


The Life of Koi Fish

by mylovelylions



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Drama & Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Humor, Romance, Smut, Teen Romance, To Read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-24 21:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 56,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22004461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylovelylions/pseuds/mylovelylions
Summary: Ko Houshakuji has never particularly gotten along with her sister. Most of the time she rarely even sees her. But when Renge takes off for some school in Japan named Ouran in the pursuit of her true love and fiance, Ko is livid. Now Ko has to travel across the world just to bring Renge back. And no undeniably attractive host is going to distract her.
Relationships: Ootori Kyouya/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 55
Kudos: 258





	1. Chapter 1

_ a/n: Hey guys! So this is my first Ouran story and I gotta admit that I'm a bit nervous. I am planning on this being an OC/Kyoya story so just a heads up on that. It was really the wake up scene - gotta say. Those eyes were killer. Anyway! I hope that you guys like it and leave me a little review if you do please! _

* * *

_ Chapter One: This is Only the Beginning _

"RENGE! YOU THIEF! GET OUT HERE!" My fists slammed off of the thick, mahogany of my sister's door. Down the hall, the servants scurried past, their eyes wide as they hurried down the marble halls and staircases. I gritted my teeth, resorting to kicking at the stupid crack in the door.

"Who's there?" a voice sang and I gritted my teeth, slamming my fist into the door once more.

"The bloody gardener! You know exactly who it is, Renge! Get out here and face me!"

There was a moment of silence and I heard the rustle of blankets and clothing before there was a click and more rustling. Was the door unlocked this whole time? I growled kicking and clawing at the mahogany. She hadn't been out of this room for weeks - maybe even months for all I knew. That was, she hadn't been out except for her nightly trips to steal my pudding and other snacks like a raccoon.

"You can't stay in there forever! And when you come out, you better be willing to pay for this!"

"I don't know why you're so mad." She sounded so nonchalant about the whole thing. "We're rich enough that you can go and get as many as you want-"

"I WANTED THEM  _ NOW _ !" I shrieked, going for the handle of the door as I futilely tried to get inside. Maybe I could scale up to her balcony. I frowned. That would take some extra equipment.

"STOP BEING A BRAT!"

I gasped. "STOP BEING A THIEVING LITTLE RODENT!"

"I'm gonna tell dad on you!" What a four-year-old. I smirked.

"You know he'll take my side. You've been holed up in there for so long that he probably won't even know who you are."

There was a moment of silence and then the sound of a game turning up. I growled under my breath, pressing my ear to the wood.

"RENGE!"

"Miss Houshakuji." Oh damn. My governess. Slowly, I turned to face the shrewd older woman, her eyes narrowed and her bun tight enough to pull back the skin of her forehead. Mrs. Mercier was honestly the most annoyingly diligent governess that I had ever had. Not only did she constantly articulate her disappointment in my manners but she also kept a strict ship in the organization of my daily life. Her smile turned thin as her eyes closed into a purely demonic expression. I winced. "Have you finished your school work already?"

I grumbled out a breath, shooting a glare towards my sister's door once more. Mrs. Mercier was speaking to me in French again. I hated speaking French. In fact, I hated speaking most languages except for my native Japanese. But my father and mother had moved us to Paris (with short trips all around the world) when we had been very little.

"Miss Houshakuji?" She was giving me that creepy smile again.

"I finished the school work." I had honestly gotten done with it hours ago but I rarely told her that the papers she was giving me were a couple grades below where I was at. Although I was starting to think that she suspected as much.

"Well than I guess it's time to look over some much neglected management issues that have popped up in a couple of the boutiques and cafes under your father, isn't it?"

That sounded absolutely dreadful.

"But-"

"Let's not dawdle, shall we,  _ mon chou _ ?" I hated it when she called me a cabbage.

"But - ow, ow, owowowow." Her nail bit through the top of my ear, her smile still firmly in place as she dragged me along the halls. She was the devil. Angrily, I looked back at my sister's door. "I don't care how long it takes, when you come out you're dead!"

"Ko!" Mrs. Mercier reprimanded and tears blurred my vision as she yanked at my ear. "Manners."

" _ Je suis désolée _ ," I grumbled out, giving in to being hauled back to my study.

A few hours later that was exactly where I was. Still.

I stared down at the numbers on the paper. Either we were taking in too much in the Los Angeles branch or someone wasn't ordering in the right clothes and promoting them the way that they needed to be. Either way it would require a personal visit. I rubbed my eyes, taking off my glasses for a moment. I had been at these papers for nearly five hours now and wanted to leave.

Gloomily, my eyes turned to the double doors. I was sure Mercier was hovering out there - her stupid notebook open and penciling in all the different torture techniques that she would inflict on me next. She was the devil. Literally. Once she had accidentally touched a hot oven - not even a wince. Not so much as a groan. Answer? She was used to being burned. Conclusion? She had come up from the depths of hell to torment-

"KO!" I jerked back in my seat, blinking at my double doors as they went slamming into the walls on either side of them, scraping past the bookshelves that lined the entire room just by a hair to reveal my father. Although aging rather well for his age with deep burgundy hair and strong jaw. But in the past months a lot of the lines wrinkling his face had become more apparent. I looked down at my nails, suddenly feeling guilty.

My sister hadn't always been the most social of the family. Renge was smart and focus and her knowledge of cultures (particularly what different people would like) had advanced the business. But then she had started to get teased. No one really understood why she was so into the things that she was into. To be truthful, I didn't think that  _ she  _ understood why other people liked what they liked either. And that led her back to the comforts of things that made her happy.

"It's terrible, dear! Absolutely awful!" I blinked, coming back to the situation at hand. My father was nearly in tears, his trench coat still on and cinched and his hands going to burrow through his hair. Behind him, my eyes connected with Mrs. Mercier who stood silent and patient just outside the door. "A COMPLETE TRAVESTY!"

Wincing, I gestured for Mercier to close the door and hurried around to my father with a handkerchief. "Can you please just tell me what this is all about,  _ daron _ ? Is it the business or-?"

His fingers wrapped around my bicep, his eyes connecting with mine. "Much worse than that, Ko. This could bring our entire family apart at the seams."

I grimaced, trying to pull it into a softer expression as I wormed my way out of his grip. My father always was prone to dramatics. It's where I assumed my sister got her... _ flare _ from. When I had realized this, it was hard to put into words how overjoyed I was that I took after my mother. Sighing, I made my way over to the desk.

"Well then, I guess we'll need some tea and food." I pressed a button on the intercom and turned back to my father who was slopping away what he could as snot slithered down his face. Oh geez.l

"This isn't amusing, Ko," he snapped. "Your sister's run off to god knows where-"

"What?" My fists slammed down on the desk as shock ran through me. This was a lot worse than I had thought. Panicking, I picked up the phone. "Have you called the police? Mom? What about our business associates connected with-?"

"Well," he said thoughtfully and I paused. "I do know where she is. She's gone to Japan. Ouran High School, in fact."

Anger was the first emotion that ran through me along with a cold hard dose of irritation. Trying not to slam the phone down, I turned fully to glare at my father.

"You old bat," I snapped, heat rising into my cheeks as his eyes went wide. "What the hell do you think you're doing coming in here raving and wailing when she hasn't even run away?"

"Well, she's so willful. She just hopped on-"

" _ You're _ private jet which  _ you  _ control with the money that  _ you  _ pay  _ your  _ pilots and every other employee that's under  _ your  _ umbrella?"

"You know her-" He started futilely.

"I do!" I screamed, throwing my hands up. "And that's why I know that she'll be back in a week. Renge can't living without that stupid dating sim that you got her."

I huffed, crossing my arms.

"This time is different, Ko." I glanced up. Something in his voice made me believe him. Slowly, I straightened. "She took one look at this picture and jumped up screaming about true love and marriage. I don't know what's gotten into her."

He handed me a small photograph. It looked relatively normal. Just an old guy with two younger men all dressed in suits. And then standing just behind them all in a blue uniform looking kind of like an unwanted runt shoved behind two german shepherds was…

I groaned, crinkling up the stupid thing. "Do you know what you've just done?"

"What?" He took the picture from me, looking over it critically. "What is it?"

"That one in the back looks exactly like the lead guy on her game thingie!" I snapped, jabbing a finger at him. "The one that she's been fawning over day and night!"

Of course he wouldn't know. He was never home enough to know. I looked away as a bitter taste filled my mouth. I didn't want to be angry - I shouldn't be angry. I let out a breath, sitting down.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I was getting a headache from this whole thing, honestly. "She's already flown off."

"I want you to go and get her, Ko!" I blinked, an absurd laugh bursting from my mouth before it went off into silence at my father's stare.

"...You're serious?"

"She's your sister."

I stared hard at him, trying to digest what he was telling me. "So you want me...your seventeen year old daughter to go to Japan and haul your fifteen year old daughter back to France… Today."

"Preferably."

"You're crazy."

His eyes went wide as he moved closer to me. Oh no. He was going into daddy mode. "This is your responsibility as the eldest daughter of this household."

"What about your responsibilities as father?" I regretted it immediately after I said it as I watched his lips tighten and him flinch back. It was a low blow. I gentled my tone. "Listen, we have family and associates in Japan - even in the Ouran area - I'm sure that -"

"I think that this will be good for you, Ko." What? I was shocked. My breath stalled in my throat as I slowly turned to stare up at him. His eyes had gone that stupid soft brown color that they got when he was feeling sentimental. "How long has it been since you took up any of the duties outside of this house? I know you're not happy with where you are."

I looked away, feeling angry that he had seen through me so easily.

"Think of it as a vacation, if you like." My mouth thinned but I didn't say anything. "Who knows? Maybe you'll even like it. But your sister… Just come back safely, you hear?"

I didn't say anything for a moment, thinking over my options. "Dammit."

My father gave a shrill cheer, clapping his hands in excitement as I stomped toward the doors, nearly colliding with the poor maid that was coming in with tea and pastries.

"I'll be back by May!" I called over my shoulder, calling over a maid.

"You're not leaving today?" I snapped around, anger bubbling up to sear my throat.

"Are you kidding me?" I hissed, my teeth baring in a sneer as I glared at his stunned face and my French muddled with my native Japanese as I got angrier. "Have you forgotten how much of the business you've handed over to me because you and mom want to 'discover' yourselves? I can't just pick up and leave."

I turned around as I saw Mrs. Mercier come up the stares, her eyes holding something that I had rarely seen. I looked away, gesturing for the maid to follow me. I didn't want her sympathy.

"Ko-" Dammit. There he went too.

"I don't have the same luxuries as Renge." It was out of me before I could stop it. I shook myself. "I'll be off in no more than a month."

* * *

_ Hey! Sooo how'd you like it? I am going to be using French since Renge and Ko obviously were raised mainly in Paris, France. _

_ Mon chou: My cabbage. It's actually a term of endearment in France. My grandma used to call me this. _

_ Je suis désolée: I'm sorry. _

_ Daron: Father _


	2. In which a Heroine Meets the Host Club!

Chapter Two: In which a Heroine Meets the Host Club!

A month later, I was sitting in the back of a limo, seriously jetlagged and wanting a _calisson_.

"So this is Tamaki Suoh?" The picture in the file showed a rather handsome foreigner with violet eyes and blonde, almost white hair. I had been filtering through them since I had gotten off of my flight and so far the only interesting one seemed to be the legendary Kyoya Ootori. But this guy - this Tamaki - was not only the president of the Host Club that they were both in but also seemed to inch in front of Kyoya in all sporting events and activities that required leadership. Odd.

I yelped as Mrs. Mercier's hand came down on mine like a whip, leaving them smarting. "Not _Tamaki Suoh_ like you two are old middle school _ami_. René Tamaki Richard de Grantaine Suoh."

"So when I meet him I should use his entire name like some weirdo?" I hissed, glaring at her as she turned her gaze back to the files on her lap.

"No. But you need to know it."

I hated the fact that she was right. If you knew someone before you officially met them, you immediately had the upper hand. I glanced out the window as the limo came to a halt just in front of a sprawling campus. A long gravel walkway led into the depths lined with a series of trees and flowers. Even from this distance, I could see the impressive buildings that were a soft pink and lined with wide windows that let in the light.

"It's very clean," I stated as Mrs. Mercier got out and held the door open for me.

"Here's the floor plans, Miss." I stared down at the impressive sketches. This place was huge. A red spot pinpointed where Renge was supposed to be.

"It looks like we're planning to kidnap her," I grumbled, starting for the main building with Mrs. Mercier at my side. "All we need is the SWAT team and some helicopters."

"I have those on backup." It was only a slight relief that her voice dropped with a bit of humiliation. _Sweet Lord_.

It took us five minutes to even get to the front door and another five to get past the overexcited school attendants.

"Are you sure that you wouldn't like to see a brochure and then decide?" a small man in a tweed suit whittled, his feet scurrying along as he tried to keep pace with me. I stopped. His other two little cronies were out of breath and sweating as they came to a hurried stop beside tweed man. I wanted this to end now.

Putting on a friendly smile, I clasped my hands in front of me and turned fully to the attendants. "I really appreciate all that you're trying to do for your school right now, Mr... Akiyama."

Thank god he had a nametag. We had only gone as far as memorizing the people that surrounded Kyoya Ootori since that was where my sister would likely be.

"Your... _diligence_ makes me want to consider enrolling here. Would you like to go and get me some paperwork while I find my sister?"

"That's wonderful! Would you like to have a guide-?"

I laughed, giving him a smile. "That's very kind but unnecessary. I assume that you'll find us in the third Music Room."

Before he could say anything else, I turned and made my way quickly down the hall. It was only a short walk to the Music Room but that might have been more because of it's massive size than anything else. The diagram that Mrs. Mercier had shown me had told me that there were at least three connecting rooms, each big enough to house an orchestra alone. In all, the room must have taken up nearly the entire floor.

"Can you distract Mr. Akiyama?" I asked quietly as I faced the luxuries double doors. It was more than likely that they would come rushing up with paperwork and all. My hand went to curl around the gold handle. "This might take a bit of...convincing."

With a short nod , my governess made her way swiftly down the hall, her heels clicking rhythmically and I took a deep breath. My sister and I never did particularly see eye to eye and I had seen less and less of her the past couple of months. So this was going to be fun.

I pushed open the doors. And immediately stumbled back as a little boy in deep green plowed into me covered in bruises and bandages and a funny little markered-on scar on his cheek.

My hands were barely able to fall back and catch myself, landing in a tangle of limbs.

" _Merde_ ," I groaned out, wincing as I rolled to see the boy crouching beside me. "Are you okay?"

It was probably the worst decision I had ever made. Sparkles appeared out of the blue, a sickly rose-colored aura fluttering around the boy as he looked up at me, wiping some invisible wound near his mouth.

"No big deal. It was nothin'." What...the literal hell? Had I just walked on to some cheesy school soap opera? I blinked, finally taking the time to look around. The inside was as large as the sketches had hinted at with pillars holding up the high ceilings and a series of finely polished oak tables with roses on all and couches. The marble walls and floor were adorned with gold designs. And seeming to complete the image were six men, all elegantly dressed in the standard blue uniform and all very handsome.

And then there was my sister.

" _You_ ," I snarled, immediately getting to my feet as she scuttled back around a pillar. "Don't you run, you spiteful little brat! Get back here!"

"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME ALIVE!" She shrieked, the poofy pastel yellow dress fluttering all around her as she raced around the room. I growled, sprinting after her.

"Who are these crazy ladies?" It was the kid. I dodged around a pillar, catching the glint of an Ouran badge on her chest.

"You should probably go home, Shiro."

"You already enrolled here?!" I screamed, causing her to glance back at me as she dodged around a table. I swatted the vase to the side, barely hearing it crash to the floor as her eyes widened. "What the hell are you thinking, Renge?!"

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Renge feigned right. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a flash of blonde hair.

"Nah," two voices said in such unison that I wasn't sure I would be able to tell one apart from the other.

"The taller ones so fast," a childish voice whispered followed by a small mumble of confirmation.

"I don't have _time_ for this, Renge," I snapped and her teeth bared over the table at me in a sneer. She was really ticking me off. "Father's expecting us back in less than 20 hours."

"You're such a suck-up," she snarled and I rolled my eyes.

"Look who's talking, princess." She gave a shriek of indignation and we maneuvered around the table again. This was going nowhere. "This is ridiculous."

I leaped over the table, my nails digging into the front of her dress, sending us both crashing to the ground as the table went toppling over.

"YOU'RE CRAZY!" Renge wailed, trying futilely to push me off of her as we rolled.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WENT HALFWAY 'ROUND THE WORLD TO MARRY-"

"Ladies! Ladies!" Hands dragged me off of my sister. Not before I was able to get a good yank at her hair though. A tall, man with an obvious mix of French in his heritage twirled in, patting Renge on the head as he smiled charmingly at me. _Tamaki Souh_. "Those hands shouldn't be used for such violence."

My hand was pulled into a strong grip, lips barely grazing the back as Tamaki went to his knees in front of me. He had obviously done a lot of this. I tried not to grimace as he stared up at me through a flush of lashes, his violet eyes sparkling.

"They should be held in my hands alone." For a moment, I didn't say anything. It was completely mind-boggling how this guy had gotten ahead of someone with the alleged merit that Kyoya had. I stared down at him suspiciously. Had I gotten the wrong guy? No. Mrs. Mercier never got informational stuff like this wrong. "And adored by my kisses."

Was this guy for real?

"Lame." My eyes snapped to my sister as I heard her echo my word. Keeping my eyes on her, I yanked my hand away from Suoh who seemed to be too busy wilting at my feet with two red-headed twins laughing around him. The Hitachiin twins. Mercier had told me to look out for them since their parents were in the fashion industry just like mine. Our companies were competing for dominance in America at the moment. Luckily for us, the Hitachiin's had moved more towards casual wear and beach attire along with traditional in the past months. It had put a bit of pressure on our stores in Japan and Germany.

All of the other host members had gathered around the scene. Even the infamous Kyoya Ootori. I turned fully to the man, my eyes running over his black hair teasing the angular contours of his face. Wisps tickled the side of his ears, almost on the edge of being messy but instead just making him seem almost endearing. Striking charcoal eyes were framed cooly with rimless glasses. His school uniform was impeccable. I hated to admit that his picture didn't do him much justice. He was handsome. I frowned. A lot more handsome than most of the other hosts.

Not that I would ever let him in on that.

Straightening my dark green cardigan and the belt on my dark blue dress, I turned fully to face him. He had been the one to tug me off of Renge. My lips thinned. She was hiding behind him. No way was I letting him run off with my sister like some kind of white knight.

"Kyoya Ootori." If I had forced any more loathing into that word, I was pretty sure that he would have melted in front of me. All around me, I could feel the sudden tensing, the intakes of breath.

His lips tipped up, his eyes narrowing and then closing as he smiled thinly at me. Ah. I tipped my head back. I had seen that face too many times to misunderstand it. So he was Kyoya Ootori. And apparently he wasn't going to jeopardize his family's relationship with the Houshakuji family in any way.

"Miss Ko Houshakuji, I assume." Dammit. He even had a nice voice. I tried not to show my agitation as Tamaki gasped.

"So you're Renge's sister?" I glanced over to see a young man who was much shorter than the others with big, brown eyes and silky hair. Haruhi Fujioka. For the first time, I was genuinely happy that Mrs. Mercier had done her research and dug farther into the backgrounds of the people in this club than was truthfully necessary. I would have never been able to guess that Haruhi was a girl just by her looks.

"They look nothing alike do they, Takashi?" Mitsukuni Haninozuka said, his arms wrapped tightly around Takashi Morinozuka. I had had little to no experience with their family. We had only dabbled into the selling of athletic gear for a short time before going back to our lines of casual dress wear and formal wear along with boutiques and cafes. Martial arts just didn't seem to run in my family's blood.

My eyes flicked back to Kyoya and narrowed. Did he already know about Haruhi? And if he did, what would the advantage of a commoner in the host club filled with the rich and famous? His eyes met mine for a brief moment and inwardly something clicked. He did know. Slowly, his lips tipped up into a knowing smile. I guess there wouldn't be an advantage to that scrap of information.

"Yes," I said, turning around to face Haruhi and give her a curtsy as I regained myself. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Fujioka."

For a moment, everything was silent and then I heard a low laugh from beside me.

"WHAT?!" Renge shrieked, reeling back like she had been electrocuted. I rolled my eyes. It wasn't that big a deal. Apparently, Haruhi had registered into the school as female but was simply to lazy to get her uniform turned in. Besides, from my research, she seemed to be at the top of all her classes. That kind of commitment took time. So I was sure that more than general laziness she simply wasn't all that interested in something without real consequences if found out.

"She's sharper than she looks," I heard one of the twins whisper and my eyes snapped to them. _Smarter than I looked? Calm down, Ko. They're going to be the successors to a competitor._ I gave them a thin smile, immediately snapping out of it as I heard soft scribbling from beside me. Kyoya was writing something in a black, leather-bound book. What? Discreetly, I tipped to the side, trying to peek over his arm. _SNAP_. I gritted my teeth in agitation as he smiled down at me, the book now tightly shut. _Jerk_.

"MOMMY!" I flinched back at the whiny wail, turning in astonishment to the president of the host club. Who was crying on the floor? "Our little girls' secret has been found out!"

"I _told you_ to stop calling me that," Haruhi snapped, going over to scream down at his crying form.

Beside me, Kyoya shifted, his glasses glinting softly in the light of the room. I really didn't have time for this. My eyes snapped back to Renge and I grimaced. She was in tears herself. Apparently she had grown to like Haruhi as a boy.

"I don't necessarily think that Miss Houshakuji plans to use this against us." He said that with such confidence. I wish I _had_ a way to use it just so that I could get that stupid smile off his face. Sighing, I sat down on the couch that he gestured to, surprised that he took a seat next to me. He was a little too close for me to stop a nervous flip to turn my stomach.

"Unfortunately," I started, looking away to the roses on the table as the rest of the members gathered around us leaving Renge to wallow alone. Haruhi's eyes met mine and I only saw general interest there. "Having this particular bit of information doesn't help me at all. What would I do with a secret that isn't really a secret?"

"Well, that's a relief," Tamaki said, flicking his hair out his eyes and giving me a dazzling smile. "We welcome you, Ko Houshakuji and are here at your disposal."

"Good," I said, getting up to all of their obvious surprise and rolling up my sleeves. "I would like you all to help me with this." I gave them all a cool smile as I strolled toward my sister's shell-shocked form. "Please."

"No!" Ah, she came back to herself quicker than I had thought. "You've ruined everything, Ko! Why would I ever want to go back to father and you when you've given me nothing but trouble? I'm happy here."

She was glaring at me now. I hated it when she did this. She was stubborn - the one trait that she had seemed to get from our mother other than her looks.

"Oooohhhhh." I ignored the twins as my sister got to her feet. "Sisterly quarrel."

"Should we stop it before they break anything else?" Mitsukuni asked quietly only getting a silent stare from Mori.

"Now, now, ladies," Tamaki said a bit nervously, getting up with extended hands. "Isn't there a way for us to settle this-"

"Dad sent me to get you." My eyes narrowed on her as hers rolled. "You're worrying him."

"He doesn't care." I gulped at the spiteful words, hating the way that everyone seemed to go silent. We were making a scene. Futility, I tried to lead her into a more secluded spot of the room but she shook me off. Looks like we were going to have this out here. "He's handed over most of the company to you - leaving nearly nothing for me-"

"Did you ever think that the reason he didn't give you anything was because of your lack of interest in the business?" I snapped, not able to contain my own anger. Behind me, I could feel the stares - one in particular. Did she think that I wanted to take control of all this stuff - the boutiques and clothing lines, the investments and cafes - while he was on a yacht in the Mediterranean? But someone had to do it. He had built this entire life for us and I wasn't going to let it sink just because of her. I let out a breath, trying to give myself some room to breathe before she cried even more than she was already. "Listen. I know that you've been trying-"

"You don't know anything, Ko." It was the biggest slap to the face. Her honey eyes blazed up at me. "I'm staying here and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"As long as you stay here, I stay here," I snarled, losing my cool all over again. She was acting like a brat. " _Daron_ wanted me to bring you back and I agreed to it."

Anger made me switch rapidly from French to Japanese.

"Well then, I hope you brought a lot of clothes."

"YOU BRAT!" I jumped on her, ripping and slapping at anything I could get my hands on as she screamed. I was so angry. Couldn't she just - this once - ? Strong arms pulled me away and all I could do was hang there like a fuming puppy. "YOU'RE SELFISH! Think about me for a minute, Renge! I need to run things-"

"You ran them from France; why not from Japan?" Her hair was all over the place, a set of claw marks running down her cheek and Tamaki and the blonde-haired boy fretting over her.

She actually had a good point. Since our company was international, it really didn't matter where I was as long as I was able to go to places easily. Why did I want to go back to that empty house? It would be mostly the same here in Japan. "I - I - I'm still in school. What about my education?"

"You're standing in Ouran. Duh." I really didn't appreciate that. I gritted my teeth down on a retort as I glared at her. Her brows tipped up. "There are only two options in front of you, sister~"

Leave without her or wait around until she changed her mind. I couldn't just airlift her out of here. She would come crawling back. I winced, sinking back against a solid chest. She was right. All the fight left me.

"Hahaha!" I heard Renge chirp triumphantly. Slowly, the arms unwound from around my waist and I turned to see Kyoya smiling down at me. He looked positively evil. For a moment, I wondered if Mrs. Mercier and him were related.

"Welcome to Ouran High School, Miss Houshakuji." Why did that sound more like a deadly promise than anything else? "I'm sure that I'll be seeing you around."

For my sake, I really hoped not.

* * *

_Calisson: This is a traditional French candy that looks a bit like a yellow petal covered in white icing. My great-grandmother always used to have them around in her house with other little treats for us kids. They come in varying flavors like oranges and lemon and they usually have almonds crunched up on top under the icing._

_Ami: friend_

_Merde: Shit. Oh my. Just got a bit R-rated, kiddies!_


	3. Cet Endroit Est Rempli Avec Des Roses

"You'll be staying." I didn't respond to Mrs. Mercier's statement, instead choosing to focus on the house that I was stepping into. Fortunately for us, dad and mom had a home in nearly every country that was always fully furnished. Renge had been living in a hotel just a walk from Ouran this whole time. Which was mildly disturbing since she _was_ the second daughter to one of the wealthiest men alive.

"It's beautiful," my sister gasped in French, going immediately to a window that looked over a lake. It was a traditional Japanese home with sprawling lawns and maples and pine trees protecting and shading the home. It was beautiful and it took my breath away. I pulled aside the glass sliding doors to step out on the _roka_ where the extended roof held elegantly decorated lanterns to guide the way.

The home had obviously been upgraded from the paper sliding doors and other things but it still kept the general tones with wide, open rooms and a waterfall garden in the center of the home. _Satsuki_ and _perulatus_ lined the sides of the house, their white and pink petals reaching for us as Renge ran down the halls giggling. It was a multi-storied home with ample room for maids and cooks and our rooms.

"You can go back to France." It was harder than I thought it would be to say. The thought of Mrs. Mercier not being with me was more frightening than I would like to admit. But she had a home in France - even if she had no children and only an ex-husband.

"Have you graduated high school yet?" I looked at her, clearly perplexed. What was she talking about?

"No?"

"Then I guess we have a ways to go." She didn't look at me, her eyes intent on the lake. Maybe I should be nicer to her.

"Yeah," was all I managed before hurrying off to my room. Niceness would take time.

* * *

I tightened the bow around my neck, staring at the puffs of yellow that were wrapped around my body like I was some kid going to her first recital. The outfits for Ouran Highschool weren't entirely awful. But compared to the ones given to the males, we were definitely sacrificing a lot.

"Why don't they just transfer the male color for the uniforms over to the female outfits?" I mused, earning a startled look from the maids that had made my bed.

Although the rest of the house seemed to keep its fairly traditional Japanese feel, I had picked a bedroom that had large, floor to ceiling windows. It was fortunate that the house even offered such a room, with a raised platform that held a comfortable bed. It was ordinary with all the essentials - a closet, dresser, etc. I stopped as I came to the place that held my outside shoes, sliding them on as my eyes turned to the beautiful gardens and lake that spanned the entire house. The one thing that my old French house would never be able to replicate was this.

Giving them a short smile, I left the room, picking up my bag and heading for the front door where Mrs. Mercier waited with a clipboard and tight lips.

She had always liked to participate in my daily rituals - especially my morning routines. She liked to make sure that my hair wasn't getting tangled up since it was a bit more wily than Renge's and also that I had spare glasses in my bag although she knew I preferred contacts. She also liked to make sure that I wasn't showing off too much skin. Although Renge and I were born naturally on the leaner side, around the time that my boobs started coming in, Mrs. Mercier prickled. Apparently, up until that point, she hadn't realized that I was female.

I sighed, my feet padding softly against the wood floors. She had nothing to worry about with this school uniform. There would be no room for impropriety here.

"Ah, _cet endroit est rempli avec des roses_ ," I whispered softly to myself, sliding into my shoes and making my way down the intricate stone pathway that led to our front gate and limo, Mrs. Mercier closely behind me.

"What was that, Miss?" she quipped, opening up the door so that I could slide in. I paused, glancing inside to see Renge already there, her eyes wide and excited. She had never been this happy to go to school before.

"I was just reprimanding myself for how rosy everything seems to be looking," I said as I slid in and Mrs. Mercier did the same. Across from me, Renge smirked, her eyes growing mischievous as the car began to move.

"I knew you'd fall in love right when you got here," she sighed happily, leaning back into the leather. Irritation ticked through me.

"Fortunately for both of us, I have a little more self-control." I gave her a thin smile as she stewed, her cheeks puffing out.

"You have to ruin everything." I blinked, my eyes narrowing and my hands clenching in the thick material of my skirt.

" _You have to ruin everything." I stared down into the wide brown eyes of my sister. It was her seventh birthday and all of her friends were gathered around us._

_Even when we were little, we had shared few traits. I had long, burgundy red hair and angular features. It all came from our French mother while everything that Renge had came from our Japanese father. She was arrogant, dramatic and hot-tempered._

" _But we're not-" I started in Japanese, trying to reach out to her and just receiving a scowl instead. Nervously my eyes flicked around and I saw the stares._

" _You're talking in Japanese again. You know I don't like it when you do that." Renge stomped her foot and I straightened. I was older than her. Why was she being like this?_

" _You know that we don't look alike so we wouldn't fool anyone when you started going on about us being twi-" I stopped as she burst into tears._

" _She's a liar," a kid to my right whispered. They had only come because Renge had told them that we were exactly alike. They had thought that we were twins. That we had some weird mental link that told each other when we were in trouble or when we were hurt. Apparently Renge had told so many stories about us and our magical abilities that the others had started to believe we were two fairy children from the depths of Asia._

" _You ruin everything!" Renge wailed, pressing her fists tightly to her eyes as tears and snot dripped from her chin. "Why couldn't we be more alike? Why couldn't I have a better sister? Why? Why-"_

" _Renge!" Dad was here, scooping up my little sisters sobbing form as the kids whispered. Kids were so mean. Why were they like this? "What happened, mon canard?"_

" _Stop it!" I hissed at the kids near me and suddenly, Dad's eyes were on me, his brows tipping down._

" _Ko, what did you do to your baby sister?" I don't say anything. Deep down, I do think it's my fault. If I was more like Renge, maybe she would have an easier time. If we were more alike, maybe she wouldn't feel so alone._

" _I want to go to sleep, daron," Renge whispered suddenly, her words hiccupy and short as she fought off sobs. "I just want to go to sleep."_

_All I could do was watch as my Dad's long legs carried them to the patio and into the house, the parents under the large umbrella's murmuring and watching the scene closely. I'm left to listen to the children's whispers and criticism._

"Miss Ko!" I jerked, blinking around. We've made it to the school. Renge's already gone and Mrs. Mercier is obviously worried. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Sorry." I cough, picking up my bag and getting out of the car quickly. "I'm leaving the rest of the unpacking and staff management to you today."

"Of course." With a short nod, Mrs. Mercier fixes the cuffs on my dress and collar before smoothing out my hair. "You'll be fine, Mrs. Ko. Just go to your classes and everything should be all right."

I give her a strained smile, turning away before she can read too much into it. "Aren't I always fine, Mrs. Mercier?"

"When eyes are upon you." The old bat. She saw too much.

Giving her a short wave, I take a breath and head down the long pathway to Ouran's main building.

* * *

"I really do need to go now," I forced out, giving the girls gathered around me a strained laugh.

I should have known that I would be bombarded like this. Not only was I new but I was also a Houshakuji. Not only were we known for our clothing lines but we were also known for our cosmetics. It was exhausting fending these she-beasts off. I was sure that all I looked like was a big bottle of facial cream with a discount sign on it.

"But Ko!" one girl whined, batting at my arm playfully. I really didn't like people touching me. I sent them a thin smile. "How can you do this to us? We really need you tonight! All the boys are expecting us to invite you."

"I'm sorry to disappoint," I said with a restrained smile, getting up and gathering all my school supplies.

"Well, where will you be going?" Another girl chirped in, her eyes flicking to her friends nervously as I got to the door and slid it open

I thought over my options for a moment, my fingers traveling over the wood of the sliding door. "I'll be going to the Host Club."

That was honestly my best option at the moment. Renge would likely pop up there if nowhere else. And I needed to talk to Ootori. Nodding goodbye to the stunned girls, I headed briskly down the halls and up a flight of stairs. I hadn't heard from my sister all day and with my father's constant texts, it was hard for me to let her run rampant. I felt like I had entered motherhood with the amount of diligence that I was having to pay to one fifteen year old girl.

"Welcome." Light blinded me for a moment, making me stumble back as a flurry of rose petals slapped me in the face. It was a lot more of an aggressive assault than I was expecting.

"Why, if it isn't Miss Houshakuji!" It was Tamaki. It always seemed to be him that made the first move. He grinned down at me playfully as he walked over, taking my hand and giving it a chaste kiss. "I knew you would be back! Have you finally come to terms with your love for me?"

His voice dipped lowly as he leaned down, staring intently into my eyes. "Because I'm not sure I could wait another moment for your words to relieve the ache I've experienced every day - Nay! Every second that has passed without you."

For a moment, I didn't say anything, simply taking in the man in front of me. He was obviously very good at what he did. And my research showed that he was the main cause of over 50% of the customer's here. It was astonishing.

"Yeah…" I mumbled, slowly disengaging myself from his hold and inching past him. _He was uncharted waters_ , I thought distastefully as I eyed him. His motives were completely confusing simply because he didn't seem to have any. My eyes flicked to the other hosts that were standing around an empty chair that looked more like a throne. All of their motives were confusing.

"She totally turned you down, boss!" the twins howled, nearly crying with laughter over the dejected form of Tamaki.

"Well, what type do you like, Ko?" I glanced up to see the playful face of Mitskuni, his arms resting on top of Takashi's head as the quiet giant watched with a blank expression.

Haruhi was off with a customer, her eyes flicking up briefly to give me a smile and a wave. She was a lot friendlier than I was expecting. But maybe that came with a shared secret.

"Actually-" I started, glancing around the nearly filled room to see all the girls sitting on the couches and at tables, chatting animatedly with each other as the hosts attended me.

"Miss Houshakuji." Ah, there he was. I turned slowly, watching at the tall figure of Kyoya Ootori approached with an indifferent smile in place. He was good at creating masks. Mitskuni gave a small chirp from his place on Takashi's shoulders. "I was expecting you."

"Let's go, Takashi," the blonde-haired boy whispered mischievously with a smirk, tugging the man's ear until he nodded and they went over to a crowded table with cake and tea.

"You were expecting me?" The words came out bland as distrust filled me. From what I had gathered, Kyoya wasn't the type to grace anyone with useless attention.

"Yes," he said, nodding. "I thought we might have things to discuss."

Well, he certainly had the upper hand now. His eyes glittered behind his glasses as they ran over me.

"Kyoya." Ah, Tamaki was up again, his gaze intent on us as he inched closer. "Ko's your client?"

"Mm," Kyoya murmured, his eyes flicking to me for a moment before he gave a small smile. "I hadn't particularly thought about that but if she would-"

"No." It came out louder than I thought it would, heat rolling up my neck as I flicked my hair away from my face and stared up at the much taller man. His gaze was calculating. He knew exactly what he was doing. "From what I hear, Mr. Ootori, you would need my credit card number if I decided to be your client."

For a moment, neither of us said anything. Beside us, I could feel Tamaki anxiously watching the exchange. I wasn't going to lie, Kyoya intimidated me. Especially with the odd way that my heart was reacting whenever I got near him. And the way that he kept looking at me.

"Not necessarily." I blinked. It was a split second comment and then he was turning away. How could I respond? I needed to respond, didn't I? But he was already walking away. "Luckily for you, Miss Houshakuji, today my time is absolutely free of charge. If you'll follow me…"

I glanced back at Tamaki, only see his perplexed expression for a moment before I was hurrying after Kyoya's tall figure to a corner of the Music Room that held a table and two chairs across from each other. There weren't any flowers on it but there was an impressive display of sweets and teas. Gracefully, Kyoya sat down, waiting as I eyed the display suspiciously. Delicately, I poked at the sugar cookies and cakes.

"It's almost April," I stated, watching as he paused in opening his leather-bound book with all its secrets. His eyes flicked up to meet mine.

"I'm glad you notice the changing of months." _Oh, that was how we were going to play it?_ I smiled thinly at him as he sat back, crossing one long leg over the other and watching me intently.

"It's almost April in Japan," I said, picking up a cookie and staring at it's crystallized coat of sugar. "I'm sure that you've realized that the sakuras are in bloom and that soon _Miyako Odori,_ Golden Week, _Inuyama_ , and _Takayama_."

"Your point?" I was getting to him. Even though he was keeping that cool tone, his eyes were telling a whole other story. I smirked, turning the small, little cookie around in my hand.

"Don't you think that every single person in this room will be going there and eating seasonal Japanese treats?" I tossed the cookie on the plate, meeting his deadly eyes with a smile. "Who wants the same old, boring sugar cookies when right outside of these gates there are people selling hot _amantto_ or sakura mochi out of their street shops?"

His gaze never left mine as I sat back in my seat, finally able to feel like I had gained a little ground. Maybe I wasn't so outmatched after all. I took a sip of the tea, closing my eyes as the smooth taste rolled over my tongue, leaving my mouth with a slightly bittersweet taste. _Gyokuro tea_.

"That will be 4200 yen." I spluttered, choking on the next mouthful as my eyes flew open to see Kyoya scribbling something down in his notebook. _Damn him._ I should have known that if he hadn't gotten me with his stupid client deal then I would have to pay for his time some other way. He was the devil. Dark eyes flicked up to meet mine, sending a shiver running up my arms. "You make good points, Miss Houshakuji. I will take them into consideration."

His smile turned purely demonic as his eyes closed. "How will you be paying today?"

Anger flared through me, burning my throat as I yanked my bag into my lap and dug for my wallet. 4200 yen for a cup of tea was ridiculous. Growling, I flicked the money onto the table.

"Not using a credit card?" Oh, wouldn't he love that? I shot him a withering glare, slamming my bag back to the floor.

"I have a feeling that I would be seeing more and more charges brought up from this godforsaken place if I let you have that information."

"We notify all clients-"

"I'm not a client," I snapped, my voice whipping out of me as a blush seared my cheeks.

"I've noticed." There he went again, saying things so softly and quickly that I didn't have time to respond. My heart leaped into my throat. Slowly, Kyoya leaned to the side, one of his hands coming up to prop up his head. "What's your business here, Miss Ko?"

I blinked. "Don't call me that. And my business is with my sister and my sister alone."

The dark-haired boy gave a small smile. "I'm glad. For a moment, I was under the impression that your sudden interest in Japan might have had something to do with the Ootori family."

"You're not out of the woods yet," I snarled, immediately regretting my impulsive threat as his eyes swirled dangerously. Angry at my own weakness, I glanced away, taking in the giggle girls around me and their handsome hosts. "Your family isn't my problem… But _you_ are."

For a moment, there was silence and then I snapped around at a dark chuckle. Under a splay of dark hair, his eyes glittered. "I'm flattered."

"Don't be." Why did I feel like I had just been knocked silly? Smiling like this, he almost seemed - My fingers tightened around the armrests. "I need to know what your relationship with my sister is."

He didn't like that. His lips tipped down and briefly, his eyes flicked around the room before they were set on mine again. He looked like he had just seen something particularly unsavory and was debating whether to intercede or move on. But then they changed. I gulped as they darkened and the hand that had been propping up his head slowly came to the table. _That look_ \- Fire burned up my spine. He was looking at me like a wolf that had just found a lamb. That was probably why I couldn't restrain my urge to lean back into my chair as he slowly got up, his hand still on the table as he leaned across the table.

And into my personal space.

I needed to think - My eyes shifted from him to a point in the wall as he came closer. My head was all fuzzy. I gulped, trying to ignore the irrational fluttering that was sending my heart into a tailspin as his breath blew warmly across my cheeks, his lips so close that I thought I felt them ghost along the shell of my ears. He was doing this on purpose. Damn him.

"I think all you need to know, _Miss Ko_ , is that I won't jeopardize my family's reputation and business." I let out a whoosh of air as he leaned back, his head tipping to the side as his eyes flicked from my eyes to my lips. "No matter how tempting the offer."

I nearly blew a gasket. My head was all over the place. How was I supposed to take that? He was talking about my sister? Right? But the way that he was looking at me - No. Dammit. My hand slammed into the table, the whole room seeming to rattle as I scrambled away. I need to get some distance from him. Hands shaking, I grabbed clumsily for my bag. I wasn't going to wait here for Renge for another second with this guy. He was deadly. He was dangerous. He was -

He was following me toward the door with a cocky smile and his hands shoved into his pockets like he had just bought Europe for 9000 yen.

"I hope to see you again soon, Miss Ko." There was an ending to that sentence. _As my client_. My eyes narrowed on the tall, ebony haired man.

Like hell would he ever have me as a client.

* * *

_So much Japanese this chapter! I really like the French and Japanese culture and I do know a lot about both so I'm afraid that you guys are going to have to deal with my eccentric references. (No but seriously. If you don't like it and you're like lovely, ya need to calm it down because I get confused when you throw all this fancy shit in here. Too much, honey. Just tell me! I can contain myself. I think.)_

_**Roka** : Wooden floored passageways on the exterior of a house. So pretty with lanterns. If you haven't seen them - Girlfrien', you need you some Studio Ghibli._

_**Satsuki** : Little bushes with beautiful flowers that usually are a light pink. They remind me a bit of hibiscus flowers._

_**Perulatus** : Another type of flower that is common in Japan. It comes in a shrub form with cute, white buds that look similar to bells._

_**Cet endroit est rempli avec des roses:** This place is filled with roses. In France, they have a really pretty saying that goes something like 'seeing the world through rose colored glasses.' It's a saying for how people view the world when they're in love. I actually learned that from Audrey Hepburn, not my grandmother._

_**Mon canard:** My duck._

_**Miyako Odori:** Literally means "Dances of the Old Capitol" but is more commonly referred to as Cherry Blossom Dances." They have drinks and food and more importantly, Geisha's doing traditional dances._

_**Golden Week:** It's like crunch time in Japan. A lot of people take off for these days to have fun. Get their drink on and more importantly celebrate a series of holidays with their families. Originally it was just a celebration for Emporer Showa's birthday but they were like what the hell? And so it began._

_**Inuyama:** Not getting into the real specifics, it's a parade with 13 beautiful floats._

_**Takayama:** It's one of the three biggest festivals in a Japanese year! Like the others there is food, floats, and some puppets._

_**Amantto:** It's just sugared almonds. De-licious. Except not really almonds - more like azuki or other beans. Still yummy._


	4. Chapter 4

The Host Club was a rabbit's hole. I stared around at the finely dressed girls - heiresses in their own right - giggling over tea. This place held everything that was needed to distract young ladies with too much time on their hands and not enough sense in their heads to realize that the money being taken out of their bank accounts could probably support a family of five. They were in over their heads. They were drowning in a fantasy that would be ending as soon as they graduated.

But I supposed that I shouldn't think too much about it. Especially considering the fact that I had just helped this nasty little habit pick up a few more customers.

"It seems that it might be beneficial to have you around, Miss Ko."

My lips twitched down as I stared at the man in front of me, his slender fingers scribbling down a series of notes in his little book. It made me angry that I thought he was probably the most elegant, mind-numbingly handsome person in the room. And also that he had played me. Cool, ebony eyes flicked up to meet mine with a small smile.

"Our sales and client list has increased since your suggestion came to me."

I didn't say anything, holding his gaze. For the first time, I realized that his eyes were shot through with a brownish-grey. It made them almost sparkle, shifting in the light as rays hit them at certain moments. They were beautiful. He was-

"That will be 5000 yen," I stated, cutting my train of thought off quickly as I gave him a thin smile, offering out a hand as I waited for a moment.

"I wasn't under the impression that your advise was going to be charged for."

"I'm sure we've both been known to leave things out once and awhile." I waited patiently as he stared down at me, his eyes slightly narrowed in consideration. At least I was making him think. Sometimes, I felt like I was talking to a greek statue, trying to beat through the hard exterior at the smallest signs of flesh beneath. It made me feel desperate in an odd way that I had never known.

I gave him a full-blown grin as I felt the crisp folds of money slide along my palm.

"Hm." I glanced up from putting the money away, to see his eyes lasered in on me like he was trying to work something very complicated out in his mind. "Interesting."

That was possibly even worse than finding out that I had helped out the Host Club. My head tipped to the side as his notebook snapped open and he immediately began writing in it. Curiosity itched along my spine. It had to be something that I had just done, right? But what was it? He had already known that I was a business woman. My feet shuffled to the side, trying to be as stealthy as possible as my eyes strained to see his tight, neat handwriting.

"Hou-sha-ku-ji~" I nearly jumped out of my skin at the identical voices, gulping down on my surprise as twin arms curled around my neck and waist, smashing me in between the Hitachiin twins. Each of them wore goofy grins, matching all the way up to their amber eyes which gleamed mischievously beneath a mess of reddish-brown hair.

Either way, they were both uncomfortably close. But they were the Hitachiins. I settled in, gazing longingly at Kyoya. Wait. Why Kyoya?

"Have you chosen a host yet?" Slim fingers tightened on my waist, drawing my attention to the twin on my right who was wearing an impish smirk. "I didn't see any. Did you see her choose, brother?"

"No." The hand on my shoulder tightened up as well, drawing my gaze to the gentle gaze of the twin on my left. Huh. Maybe they were a bit different… A hand came up, grazing along my chin as the left side twin's eyes went saultry. "Maybe she's waiting for the right one."

"Or the right pair." Another hand came up to turn my head to the right and up into a heated stare.

I felt like a puppet being pulled this way and that. I wondered how the girls handled it. Wasn't there so much to take in? Wouldn't it get confusing? I could maybe, maybe tell them apart if given the right amount of time and without them moving around too much but otherwise I was going to be lost. Didn't that make people a bit wary? They had the upper hand in anything with this ability to confuse someone so easily.

"That's okay," I said thinly, stepping clumsily out of the snare of hands and legs and stumbling into Kyoya's side on accident. Blushing, I hurried to right myself. "Je suis dé…"

My words stumbled off as strong fingers curled around my waist, steadying me. The end of my sentence clogged in my throat as heat burned along my neck, searing my face. He was touching my waist. I had just had two guys touching my waist and shoulders. I gulped. I didn't want to think about why this was different. Discreetly, I glanced up to see the gentle twin staring intently at Kyoya, his face decidedly blank. The other twin looked to be incredibly bored, his eyes already lasered in on the unassuming Haruhi as she got done with a client.

All of this was a little much. My emotions were a little much. I stepped away from the ebony haired man, ignoring a sharp glance from him as I gave all of them a winning smile.

"Actually." I coughed, smoothing down my skirt and getting the money out from my bag again. "I have decided on a set of hosts."

"I knew you would come around." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as the - I was going to call him the Haruhi twin - snapped to attention, his lips curling up in a smirk as his brother's did the same. Both of their eyes churned with smug attention as they came closer, sandwiching me in between them both once more. Behind them, I caught the quick glance of Kyoya. He looked annoyed. But he always looked annoyed. It didn't mean anything. I turned, pressing a hand to the Hitachiin brothers chest in an attempt to get them to give me a little bit of space.

"Brother, she's so forward." I growled as fingers curled around my own, pressing my hands more insistently to a chest as the twins looked secretively at each other over my head.

They must have been very good hosts. Fingers tipped my chin in the direction of the other twin. They must have been very good hosts to someone - anyone - other than myself. Amber eyes blazed into mine, reminding me of some hot whiskey that my father had once swirled in front of our fireplace, the flames tinting colors until it seemed like a river of fire. Slowly, soft fingers skimmed along my jawline.

"What would you like from us, princess?" Somewhere deep in the crowd I heard a flutter of sighs and squeals. We had attracted an audience, it seemed.

"How nice," I said thinly, feeling the immediate change in temperature as my words reached sub-zero weather, the twins going stiff as they froze where they were. Taking a finger, I tilted the hand on my jaw away from me and squirmed away. "I would like you to go and get my real hosts. Mister Suoh and Mister Fujioka."

"You didn't want..?" Gulping, I saw the twins glance to each other. It was the first time I had seen them look slightly unbalanced.

"You?" I gave them a restrained smile, stepping to stand beside Kyoya who was wearing a suspiciously attentive expression, his eyes calculating and deadly as they flicked to stare at me from the corners. My mind slowly revolved around what the twins would want to hear. None of my answers came up to be in any way beneficial to myself - all of them sounding like needless flattery. The only option was to give them the bluntest answer. My eyes closed as I pulled my lips into the simper that I had used to get me through countless painful business meetings. "To be frank to both of you, you're not my types. I'm sure you're absolutely...adorable to other guests however."

It might have seemed insulting. They didn't seem to be taking it too well, both of their mouths hanging open as they muttered angrily, each trying to out-protest the other. It wasn't meant to be rude. The only reason I had said this much was because they didn't seem to be ones to give up easily, even if their hearts weren't in the game. And I didn't want to be a mindless act to either of the twins. My eyes slowly drifted over to Haruhi.

"HARUHI!" Haruhi's twin whirled to face her, his cheeks scarlet as his brother did the same. "Did you hear that? We're still your favorites right?"

"I don't have favorites."

I hadn't thought much of the girl before this moment. Many of the elite people that went to this school seemed to have some kind of vice. The girls liked to play with the Host Club. The boys liked to play with the girls that liked to play with the hosts. I had never really considered what the hosts wanted - what the most powerful, influential individuals at the top of this high school's food chain really wanted.

"You're thinking too much, Miss Houshakuji." My eyes flicked up to meet the indulgent smile that Kyoya had on his face. The same smile that I had given the twins just a moment ago. Briefly, I glanced down to his opened notebook. He was writing something about me again. I could catch out the loops and swirls of my name in there. Slowly, I turned to face him, lowering my voice so that only he could hear me.

"Are you a mind reader now?" His head tipped to the side as his grey eyes slowly opened, focusing down on me with an accuracy that made me feel naked. Vulnerable. Lazily, he he closed his book, leaning down until I felt like he was all around me, dark strands of hair falling into his eyes.

"It isn't hard to determine when my assets are in jeopardy."

"So these hosts are assets of yours?"

"That's not what I said."

"It's what you insinuated." I was getting out of breath. He was unnerving me with all his stupid staring and how close he was getting. How close… I sniffed at the air, closing my eyes as the scent of warmed sakura and tea mixed with the tang of ink drifted to me. "What's that smell?"

"...Are you trying to distract me?" I rolled my eyes as his narrowed, grabbing at his jacket collar with my free hand and leaning forward. Was it coming from him? I took in a deep breath, pressing my nose against the fabric and then turning up the collar to do the same. It was coming from him. My eyes narrowed even more as I glared up at him, my nose still pressed to his jacket.

He smelled good. He smelled intoxicating. Turning down his collar and straightening his shirt, I ignored his astonished face with a scowl.

"You've been very bad, Mister Ootori." My finger jabbed into his coat, my chin tipping up as I kept his gaze. "You have a contract with the Houshakuji family, do you not?"

"I don't see-"

"Don't you?" I pressed on. For a moment, he didn't say anything, his eyes blazing with both confusion and anger as he stared down at me. I wasn't letting up. Irritation and a bit of victory was coursing through my veins. I had finally caught him. Eventually, his shoulders went down a fraction, his face smoothing over even though I could still see the churning of jagged annoyance under the mask.

"The Ootori family does have a contractual obligation-"

"To test and develop all cosmetics sold in our boutiques and other, higher beauty shops including blushes, foundations, primers, lotions -"

"Hair accessories and perfumes," he finished with a bit of irritation and I smirked, staring up at him until he forced his lips into a strained smile. "What is your point?"

In order to sell such high end products, we had to associate with high end doctors. We needed to know that what we were giving the public products that weren't going to poison them. The move to partner with the Ootori family was beneficial to both of us. Not only did they ship to us some of the best skin products but they also came up with some ground breaking perfumes with the natural resources that could only be found in Asia. In turn we gave them a drool worthy portion of the proceeds plus full access to any future boutiques and stores in their hospitals and any other ventures that they so decided upon.

"This agreement hinges on the fact that all perfumes be shipped directly to the Houshakuji facilities for testing and management." Involuntarily, my face pulled into a giddy grin as I moved closer to him, bring us nearly chest to chest. Elation made me bold. If I got him on this, Renge would never want to see him again. And then I would be back home. Happy dance. One of Kyoya's brows tipped up as he stared down at me, an emotion that could have been amusement lighting his eyes. "You've just violated that rule."

"Tell me, Miss Ko." My head snapped down to stare at the hand that was gently moving over mine. I hadn't noticed that I had laid my palm flat over his heart. Right over his heart. I gulped, trying to push back against the blush of excitement and embarrassment that was searing my face as his long, slender fingers stroked along the back of my hand. "How has the Ootori family so violated this rule?"

"Y-you - Um - You -" I stopped, blinking rapidly as his head tipped down, so close that I could feel the tickle of his hair skimming along my cheek. He was trying to distract me. Excitement tingled along my spine, making my heart beat faster in my chest. It was working. I gulped, scrambling to recollect my thoughts. "You're cologne."

Desperately, my hands flexed and silently, I reamed myself out as his fingers did the same, only reminding me that I was completely trapped by him. If I pulled away, it would look submissive. Quelqu'un m'aider!

"My cologne?" He was prompting me - goading me. I could hear it in the stupid lilt in his voice. He was amused - so amused that it sounded like he was on the verge of laughing. I shook my head, letting my anger take over as I snapped to stare at him, not caring that he was inches away. Not caring that he it would be so easy to lean over and kiss him. But why would I want to do that?

Maybe I cared a little bit.

"The cologne that you're wearing right now," I snapped out, ignoring the tip of his brows and the way that his eyes swirled darkly, heating. "You didn't give it to us, therefore you are in deliberate violation of our contract. Perhaps my father would be interested to know that you're keeping the best for yourself."

"The best?" I bit my tongue, glancing away angrily.

"It smells very good," I admitted, begrudgingly. This didn't seem like such a victory anymore.

"Interesting."

I whirled, spitting fire at the smug, laughing way that he was staring at me.

"OF COURSE SHE WOULD WANT US!" Arms dragged me away from the compromising situation just in time, pulling me into the sparkling side of Tamaki. On his other side, Haruhi looked to be just as thrilled as a wet cat, his arms around her limp shoulders. In front of us, the twins looked to be infuriated, the scene drawing the attention of the entire club. Dramatically, Tamaki looked to the ceiling. "Princess Ko-"

"Houshakuji," I snapped immediately. My eyes drifted sharply to glare at Kyoya out of the corner of my eyes. Anger still bubbled over my skin, pricking my pride.

"Princess Houshakuji," Tamaki corrected just as quickly, very little wind taken out of his sails. "Wants only the finest. Do you think mediocre wine would tastes better just because there were two bottles of it?"

"Are you calling us mediocre?" The gentle twin deadpanned.

"Mediocre wine like Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conte Grand Cru," the other twins stated.

"Aged," his brother added and they high fived. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. I was still feeling a little… My eyes flicked back to Kyoya again, seeing writing in his stupid notebook. How infuriating.

"NO!" Tamaki roared like a general and a few girls clutched their chests in awe. "She wants the best! The - How do you commoners say it, Haruhi?"

The brown haired girl's eyes were dead as she bluntly started in, "Cream of the -"

"CREAM OF THE CROP!" He shouted, taking his hand from my shoulders for a moment to wave it about with zeal. "Does anyone really know what that means? NO! Commoners are too simple and plain for us to fully understand. They have their own language and ways like… like… like ancient neanderthals."

I could nearly see the word slamming into Haruhi's skull from above. Neanderthals. Seemingly, trying to ease the blow, Tamaki absent-mindedly patted her head. Although it only seemed to hammer in the point more and more. Snickering, the twins whispered to each other as tears came to the ladies that had come to watch the show. This was going lovely.

"Beautiful, the neanderthals thrived for centuries." Tamaki squeezed past both Haruhi and me to make a steady pace in front of us, his eyes feverish. "Until a bigger and better human came along and killed all of them off!"

I pressed a hand to my temple, suddenly feeling a dull pounding start at the base of my skull as Tamaki continued.

"DIVERSITY!" What the hell was he going on about now? "That is what women want. That is what our lovely les fleurs du jardin need."

Flowers of the garden. My teeth sunk into my tongue as I watched a girl keel over from one intense gaze from Tamaki. He was of French descent. I should have known that he would know French. Why was it so irritating that I shared that in common with him? Suddenly, violet eyes sparkled across the room from me, looking confident and smug.

"Did you catch that, Princess Houshakuji? My love? My one sun?" Was he talking about the French?

"You did very well, Mister Suoh." I bit out, trying to restrain my rising temper as I heard a deep chuckle from my right. Kyoya.

Fingers curled around mine, drawing my attention to the blonde french man now kneeling at my feet. "Please… Call me Tamaki."

For a moment, I held my tongue, taking in the slender man. He was a complete question mark. And his background was mysteriously shrouded for one of the wealthiest men in Japan at the moment. My eyes drifted briefly to Kyoya, catching his knowing smile and sharp gaze. Odd how all of the members of this specific club were the hardest to dig up anything more than general information. But knowing that much would have to be my only card for the moment.

My eyes flicked back sharply to the man at my feet, running quickly over his face. René Tamaki Richard de Grantaine Suoh : Only heir to his father although he had been mysteriously absent from the man's side for the first bit of his life, ferreted away in a mansion in France. What was even more surprising was the fact that he wouldn't be considered the legitimate heir if any other child was given from his father's marriage. He had been 14 when he had come to Japan…

I blinked, coming back to myself at a sharp cough from my right. Kyoya was watching me again.

"Princess?" Tamaki's eyes glittered from his place on the floor.

At the age of 14, it would be a wonder to see what his years in France, away from his father's business had done to him. Most of the people in this room were raised to be heirs from the cradle.

I gave him a warm smile, bringing a hand up to pat his head.

"I am happy to have someone that shares my language… Tamaki," I said softly, flipping over to French as his eyes widened.

"Miss Houshakuji." I turned at the sharp voice, gently disengaging myself from Tamaki to face the murderous face of Kyoya. What was he so mad about? His gaze was thunderous as he stared down at me, gently plucking the money from my hand to lean down and place it back in my bag.

"What are you-?"

"I'm afraid that you won't be able to speak with Tamaki and Haruhi today." It was odd how much he seemed to loom over me. Instinctively, my hackles raised and I straightened, tipping back my chin as he gave me a thin smile. "We've decided to close early today in favor of a private event."

A confused mumble began in the back of the club as the other hosts tried to soothe their guests as they ushered them to the door. My eyes narrowed on the tall man in front of me. That seemed a bit too simple. And a bit too convenient. Kyoya Ootori seemed to be protecting this group with a fierceness that I had rarely seen in elite. If I had gotten alone time with both members of the host club - particularly the next heir to the Suoh legacy - I may have been able to find a way to wiggle my family into his graces.

"I almost forgot about Shiro!" Tamaki rushed about the place, paying his dues as he escorted his clients towards the door.

"You're the one that organized this whole thing," Haruhi grumbled, staring around in obvious irritation.

It was best to be patient when dealing with other elite families. They knew the game much too well to be fooled by restlessness.

"Well." I tucked my hair behind my ears, lowering my shoulders as I straightened out my skirts and set my face into a smile. "It's a bit of a shame but I'm sure that I'll be seeing them alone… Sometime or another."

The last bit was for Kyoya's ears only, a final jab. It was useless to play dumb when he obviously knew that I was up to something. Flicking my hair over my shoulders, I turned to leave with the rest of the clients.

"Oh, Princess Houshakuji." It was Tamaki. His eyes were warm and open as he hovered over me. In a way, he reminded me of an over-eager labrador, trying to please everyone at once. "We're going to be staying at a resort this weekend. I would love to see your sister and yourself attend."

"Tamaki-" I smiled at Kyoya's sharp tone, ignoring it as I cut him off quickly, switching over to French.

"What resort?"

"I'm sure you've heard about the new Ootori resort." My smile grew, my eyes flicking over the meet Kyoya's clearly agitated ones as he tried to follow the exchange. It was a shame that his French didn't seem up to par to match a native speakers speed. All he really caught was his last name. I grinned, catching his eyes mischievously.

"Oh, I know about the Ootori resort." I nodded to the tall, French man. "My sister and I would love to be there."

With that, I gave him a smooth curtsy and headed towards the door. Houshakuji: 1. Ootori: 0.

"KO!" I blinked, zoning back into the conversation as Renge threw an orange at my head. It had been a full hour since I had told her about Tamaki's invitation and she was still blabbering on about what character she was going to dress as. If she didn't shut up soon, I would fall asleep right there at the dinner table with Mrs. Mercier watching.

"Sorry?" I quipped in French, picking up my manners as I straightened. It had been a long time since I had sat at a traditional Japanese table and my knees were aching.

"You weren't even listening." Renge's cheeks puffed out, her eyes snapping angrily as she glared across the table at me.

"Yes, I was." In vain, I struggled to come up with any bit of the conversation that she had been going on about. I remained silent. I couldn't come up with a single thing.

"Well…" Renge drifted off, her eyes going dreamy as she stared off into the distance. "It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is Kyoya… Kyoya in a bathing suit…"

I spluttered, choking on the tea that I was drinking. Kyoya in a bathing suit? I hacked, curling around the table at the unwanted images. Jesus.

"What?" I finally forced out, meeting her eyes with effort.

"Kyoya will be there. Maybe I'll finally be able to win him over this time." My heart froze, my mouth going dry. Dread creeped along my spine. Why did I feel like someone had just punched me in the face? Silently, I ran an eye over my sisters dreamy expression and then hastily turned them to my lap. I felt sick.

"Maybe," I forced out, the words of agreement feeling sour on my tongue.


	5. A Different Type of Therapy

I took the final step down from the winding staircase that led me from the lobby into the great dome that would give any engineer a heart attack. It was a tropical paradise complete with a pool and multiple waterfalls that stretched higher and higher until it almost brushed the domed roof that showed a blisteringly hot, clear sky, even though the area that I had flown into had been relatively rainy. A couple of birds, all with vibrant feathers fluttered through the palms and thick brush that threatened to invade the pristine pool area and small huts that were surely going to be used for food, drinks and other luxuries.

I sighed, slipping a pair of prescription sunglasses out of my bag and sliding them into place. Normally I could get away with contacts but today the salty air and pool water would have reddened my eyes to the point of near blindness.

_"Are you sure that she isn't out on the back balcony?" I looked around urgently, pushing aside a curtain to glance anxiously out a side window. Behind me, I heard Mercier's sigh. I was testing her patience._

_"As I mentioned before: no, Miss Ko. She is gone. Nowhere to be found. Now if we could get back to more pressing matters…" I turned to see her standing primly beside a line of maids dressed in all manner of bathing suits. Mrs. Mercier glasses flashed as she gave me a studious stare, waving for a maid in a crochet black one piece to step forward and give a spin. "Now I like the look of this one - the design is very elegant but it doesn't have the same… appeal as the bandage one, don't you agree? Shows a little more skin? Gives a little more pimenter, oui?"_

_"Oh lovely," I snarled sarcastic, crossing my arms with a huff and glaring across the room at my governess. "A bit feeble standing beside the fact that my sister has gone missing, Mrs. Merceir."_

_"She goes missing every evening, mon chou," she replied absentmindedly, looking down at a pad in her hand and clicking her tongue. "We really must get you dressed."_

_"We have four hours." I waved my hand dismissively, glancing out the window._

_"Not particularly, no," she corrected, crooking a finger to someone in the hall and sending another dozen maids scuttling in wearing various beach cover ups. Her eyes met mine. "Your sister has taken the plane."_

_I spluttering, anger bursting hotly through me as I stared across the room at her. "You have got to be fucking-"_

_"Language," Mrs. Mercier chided. "I called in to our associates within the area and asked for a short favor-"_

_"Favor?" I spat, crossing my arms in outrage. "I've never heard of such a ludicrous word in all my life. What did they want in return?"_

_"A medical branch has been struggling lately - they think that a cafe would be just the thing," she said simply, flashing a thick stack of papers at me. Numbers, family description, and other beastly information, no doubt. "_

_I will strangle her," I snarled, stomping toward the door. I had wanted a slight reprieve from work when I had woken. Now I was going to a business meeting._

_"Miss Ko-" came a polite call from my governess as I stormed from the room._

_"The boho skirt will do with the crop tank-"_

_"There's a slit. And you'll have to wear heeled sandals if you want it all to go, Miss." "Zut," I hissed. "Very well. And the two-piece black bandage."_

_"There will be many eligible men, no?"_

_I didn't dignify that with an answer._

Four hours later and I was exactly where I hoped to be three hours ago. My business meeting had quickly turned into an uncomfortable series of pleas punctuated by the businessman all but selling off one of his sons for a loan from my family. Embezzlement had tainted the company funds for far too long to be cured by some scones and espresso.

A shriek came from the general direction of the pool and I caught sight of Honey and Mori splashing around. Or rather, Honey splashing and Mori carefully monitoring.

"Well if it isn't our favorite business woman-" a smooth voice said, a lean arm curling around my hip as another came to cup my chin a tilt my gaze up to meet a set of amber eyes.

"Here to take a day off-" His twin winked, pulling me more solidly into his side.

"And fall into a fantasy?" the other Hitachiin whispered, his words dripping warmly with promise. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, gently extracting myself from their grasp.

"There are no days off only brief intervals in which people allow paperwork to pile up," I stated blandly, my eyes instinctively searching for a tousled mess of black hair. I threw a sweet smile over my shoulder, batting my eyes in an attempt to soften the thoughtless brush off. "But thank you for offering. I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

"If you're looking for Kyoya-" I stilled, my breath stalling out in my chest as a hand slipped to squeeze my shoulder.

I caught the glint of a knowing smirk as the gentler twin leaned over my shoulder and pointed toward a darkened corner to our left. His twin strode forward with the same smile, his eyes glinting as he shoved both of his hands into his pockets. They finished the sentence together. "He's right over there."

Heat seared my face, burning the back of my throat as I spluttered, taking the time to gurgle out a few French words before going back to Japanese at their dubious look.

"I couldn't care less where Kyoya Ootori was." I pulled the brim of my beach hat down a bit, trying to hide my face.

"Ah well," Haruhi's twin said, looking bored as he shrugged.

"That's disappointing."

"Yeah," the gentler twin agreed with a nod, meeting his brother's gaze. "He was just asking about you."

My heart leapt, an odd sort of feeling lightening my head. I wanted to believe it. Quickly overcoming that was dread. Pure and undiluted, feeling something akin with fear.

"You're wrong," I whispered out, my eyes going to the place that the twins had pointed out a few moments ago.

It was easier to deny than I thought, pushing it down like this into a little bitty box in the back of my mind. It was almost like every single day, putting on that complacent almost cheerful blankness all so that the corporation could run.

My father had once explained it to me while we were walking through our garden. What happens when you mix blood with sweat, Ko? He kept his eyes forward, hands tucked thoughtfully behind his back. I blinked up at him, wanting to reach around and curl my fingers through his. _You're hurt. You need to go see the housekeeper or… or the governess._ Simple, I had thought. An absolute no brainer. But father shook his head, running a hand through my hair as my brows furrowed. I _t hurts worse than it did before. All that dirt and sweat and grime gets into that little bitty cut and you suddenly realize that you should have kept the two separate - maybe you could have stopped the infection. That's how you need to look at this business. Never let all of the disgusting things that you have to deal with in this wretched, cold world get into your blood. Keep them separate. Always._

So I put on a mask. That's what I was born to do.

Turning slightly, I gave the twins a pleasant smile. "Have you spoken to Mr. Ootori about perhaps combining your bathing suit line with the spas and shops that are sure to open here?"

"Uh…" The gentler twin's eyebrows furrowed, a look of confusion marring both of their expressions. "We haven't really…"

"Pity," I murmured, turning easily in the direction that Kyoya would be. "Something to think about then…"

I could keep this up as long as I wanted to. It had become second nature at this point. Rounding the bend, I glanced around. Comfortable beach chairs and tables with decorative umbrellas overtop lined the pool. In the distance, I could see the outline of the looping plastic tubes that were sure to be the beginnings of a rather extensive water park.

As I approached I could see that the twins had slipped around another way, grabbing a bite to eat and were engaging Tamaki in a rather intense conversation. Staring out at the great expanse of the artificial tropics, Haruhi was dressed in shorts and a yellow hoodie. I glowered.

It honestly astonished me a bit how anyone had let her loose in a water wonderland in that blisteringly hot looking outfit. Lounging beside her, I caught the deep glint of Kyoya hair, his long fingers tapping absentmindedly at the arm of his chair. My heart gave an unwanted squeeze. Slowly, their words drifted to me.

"I don't understand. I thought the Ootori group ran hospitals and that they focused on the medical business," Haruhi was saying, taking a long look at the lush rainforest around her.

I smiled, an almost derisive snort ripping from my mouth as I walked over to them.

"Yes," Kyoya said slowly. "But my family likes to diversify and try different things. Besides this place could be classified as a healing facility. It's therapeutic. Think of all the people that are overworked that would just love a vacation in the southern tropics. However, they may not be able to get the time off or they may not be able to afford it. Those people can now seek refuge here at this theme park and reduce their stress levels. The Ootori groups primary concern has always been the good health and well-being of the general public."

"Oui," I chimed in, drawing the attention of both Haruhi and Kyoya. I tried not to think too much about the way that my stomach knotted as he ran a slow gaze over me, his eyes flashing darkly under the shade of the umbrella. I sauntered around to the chair on the other side of his table, setting down my purse. "You see when CEOs and celebrities are happy they make more money. More money to spend on little knick-knacks in gift shops or tropical drinks with little umbrellas in them. Haven't you ever wasted money on things that you don't need when you're sad? A little dress or necklace to make you feel a bit better? A place that supplies the qualities to let you spend some and then get you so relaxed that you stay and spend a bit more - wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"I don't really know what you're talking about," Haruhi said blandly, looking utterly lost. "Why would I spend money for no reason?"

I shrugged, pushing my glasses higher. "Well, when you have money you like to see it going into a cash register."

This seemed to befuddle her even further, her mouth twitching downward. Kyoya's eyes seemed to follow my every move as I sat down, his gaze lingering a bit too long on the exposed skin that slid into view as I crossed my legs. It was an odd sort of longing. I gulped, realizing dizzily that I wanted to reach out and touch him, run a hand over his face. It was absolutely boggling, an unknown urge that made me uncomfortable at its fierceness.

"Miss Ko," Kyoya said slowly, dragging my name out longer than he needed to. I gulped, growing flustered. He smiled. "I assume everything is to your liking."

My eyes narrowed. This was ridiculous. I gave him the same pleasant smile. "Oh, very nice. I understand that the facility still isn't fully open so little things here and there are expected."

My smile turned indulgent as his eyes snapped darkly.

"I'm sorry to hear that our facility isn't meeting your expectations," he said smoothly but I caught the unmistakable warning in his eyes as he smiled thinly across the table. "Care to air your grievances?"

He was all crisp lines and slick smiles now. This was the face that he gave his clients. My eyes narrowed. I hated that I could read him so well. I hated myself for knowing when that mask slipped into place. Did he have an off switch? I blinked. Why did I care? I didn't need him to be anything more than what he was right now. I returned his smile with full force, placing a well-manicured hand on the table as I leaned closer.

"Ah, I suppose I could give you this bit of information. Free of charge even."

His eyes flashed, a sarcastic edge tilting his lips farther up. "Nothing's ever free."

I stilled, taken off guard for a moment.

How many times had I said that to myself? For a moment, my eyes ran over his face - the high cheekbones and striking, grayish-black eyes. Silently, he returned my gaze, a strange expression softening his eyes. Did he know that I already knew that? I already knew that nothing comes for free. Why had I even offered that to him? I wasn't naive? Why did he make me lower my guard like that?

"B-birds." I tore my eyes away from his, blinking rapidly as I tried to regain my thoughts. "You-you've collected all the beautiful ones - the Macaw, toucans, flamingos…" My brows furrowed as I caught the screech of a distant bird as it swept through the trees. "But… those birds have terrible calls. They would be beautiful but they would sound absolutely horrid." I stumbled off, not knowing where to go from here. Had I wanted to help him? How would that ever benefit me? Frustrated, I turned, waving down a passing server to order a drink. I could feel his gaze on me, boring into the side of my head like he was digging through my thoughts even as he answered Haruhi's vague remarks and questions.

"Do you listen to birds often, Miss Houshakuji?" I whipped around at the smug lilt in the dark-haired man's voice. Why did his little jabs irritate me so?

"My father likes to watch them," I bit out, finally deciding to concede this fact. Dark eyes flicked to me briefly before they drifted to the pool where everyone else wandered.

"Interesting."

 _Irritating_. A vein in my head pulsed in response. "We never fully discussed your breach of contract."

Those same dark eyes flicked to me once more. "Elaborate."

 _So irritating_ , I seethed. I put on a smile. "Your family is contracted to concede all sales of perfumes and body odor products to the Houshakuji family. That includes male colognes."

"Ah." I pushed down on the blinding fury that threatened to drive me into rage.

"The cologne that you wear - my family has a right to it." Those eyes of his dragged me in, holding my gaze.

There was something there - something that looked like amusement. Briefly, I thought I caught the slight tip of his lips.

"Kyoya-" I stated, growing tired of his silence.

"NO WAY!" The grinding of gears split the air, sending a flock of birds into the air from the nearby trees. Startled, I jerked, clutching at the plastic arms of the chair. Beside me, Kyoya gave a soft growl of frustration, straightening to his full height and moving swiftly to my side. "YOU'VE GOT IT ALL WRONG!"

Just a few feet away, the twins and Haruhi paused, glancing around in alarm. In the pool, Honey paddled quickly to Mori's side, clutching at the giant with wide eyes. Tamaki had hurried over as well.

"Is that...Renge?" I stood, alarms going off in my head as I nearly collided with Kyoya since he was standing so close to my chair. His eyes flicked to me briefly as he brought out a steadying hand to my back, helping me catch my balance once more.

"Renge!" I shouted, storming over to the small hut just a few feet away as it split in two, allowing for a small platform to spin from beneath. And there was my sister, cackling in a luxury bathing suit as she cosplayed some random anime character or another. She had told me that she wanted to come here in character.

In fact, all she had talked about was that stupid outfit. And worse than that irritating chatter - she had STOLEN OUR PLANE!

"You sneaky little rodent!" I screeched, my nails curling into the tender skin of my palms as I glared at her. Startled, she jumped, the stupid, purple umbrella drooping as she winced. My sister's eyes widened for a moment as she caught sight of me.

"Ko!" she chirped, tittering nervously as she retreated an unsteady step back. "Looks like the sisters are going to get into it again," I heard one of the twins snicker from behind me. I stalking forward, intent on Renge as I caught her eyes flicking around for somewhere to retreat.

"There are alligators and snakes in the forest," I snapped darkly as I watched her eyes catch on the dense display of trees behind her. I had taken a brief glimpse at the water parks map and found a couple of helpful little cartoons of all the animals that inhabited the area.

"Are there really, Kyoya?" I heard Tamaki question nervously.

"You're lying," Renge snipped but she didn't look very convinced. I quirked a brow, baring my teeth in a smile. Kyoya's non-commital grunt from behind me made Renge's skin go a lighter shade of ash.

"You took our plane," I snarled, shuffling around the circular dias that my sister stood atop as she mimiced my movements, keeping the same distance.

"You didn't want to come," she snarled back, waving her umbrella in a feeble attempt to ward me off.

"I WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD YOU ABOUT THE INVITATION!" I shrieked, diving onto the platform.

"Papa, doesn't like it when you yell at me," Renge squealed, diving away from me. I growled, the base of my wedges sliding dangerously across the slick surface of the platform. My leg went out from me as I dove after her, a pair of strong arms circling me as Kyoya caught me deftly. Had he been tracing my steps the whole time? No. That would mean he was watching to make sure I didn't fall. That didn't seem like something he would do.

"Merci," I said quickly, quickly squirming from his grip to chase after my wayward sister. "GET BACK HERE!" I hopped, yanking off one heel so that I could toss it at the back of her head. "ATONE FOR YOUR SINS!"

"I don't need to do anything that you tell me," she screamed back petulantly, dashing toward the water slides.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT I HAD TO DO TO GET HERE?!" "Yell at someone else?!"

We blew past Mori and Honey, the blonde haired boy giggling. "Ooooohhhhh ~ I want to play tag!"

"SIT ACROSS FROM SOME BLUBBERING IMBECILE AS HE BEGGED ME TO SAVE HIS DROWNING HOSPITAL!"

She rounded a bend, stalling out as she caught sight of the nearby water and rocky cliffs. I had herded her into a dead end. I resisted the urge to crow in victory. Panting lightly, she whirled to face me, inching along the edge of the water. We had wandered off to a secluded part of the park, a place far enough away that I could barely catch the outline of the others.

"I'm sorry - is that what you want me to say?" she bleated, her eyes twitching. She hated apologizing. I growled.

"You're such a little brat," I huffed, out of breath. "Do you know how worried I was? I had no idea where you had gone. Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I needed to get here early to set up my entrance," she snipped dramatically, edging her way further along the pool.

"You're selfish," I choked out, the words hard and true as they left my lips.

Her face flickered with something like alarm and hurt before they shuttered back to her usual indignance. Like I was ruining everything. Like all that I did was just to spite her. I could feel it bubbling up - all of the years of hurt and loneliness. She had always been the baby. Always been the one who was coddled while I was forced to take up the reigns of our families empire.

"You're being mean," she whispered, her steps faltering.

"No," I hissed and I stilled as I felt a tear slip free, the burning at the back of my throat intensifying. Was I cry? I hadn't cried since I was a baby. I wasn't like that. Renge was the one who needed to be coddled. Never me. Never Ko.

"You are. You always are. You take and take and take - locking yourself away while everyone else has to _deal_ with it. _Deal_ with this wretched life. Did you ever think about me? Ever think about how much of our families business was being taken on by me after you shirked your responsibilities?"

After all of them shirked their responsibilities, my insides raged, tears blurring my vision. After mama and papa just left - left the house and more importantly left me. All by myself, day after day because someone had to look after the business. Someone had to do it. For a while, my sister and I had shared the load, gritting through it. And then it was just me. All by myself. Even in that great, big house I was _alone_. I used to walk those halls feeling like a visitor at a museum closed off from the rest of the world. _If I were to die now,_ I used to think _it would be the servants who found me first._

"You wanted-"

"WHO TOLD YOU I WANTED ANY OF THIS?!" I screamed, a couple of birds fluttering into the air in alarm.

Renge was silent as she watched me, awe crossing her face briefly before she looked away, her cheeks reddening. I choked down another sob, pressing my hands to my eyes angrily.

Why was I crying? Why was this happening now? It felt like she had abandoned me again, my mind whispered pathetically. It felt like she had just tossed me aside again like our mother and father had.

"Ko." Soft fingers brushed along my shoulders. No. I didn't want her pity. They didn't get to pity me.

"Don't touch me," I hissed, jerking away from her. "You don't get to comfort me after all you've done."

Hurt singed her eyes, pushing her a step back. I hadn't wanted to say that to her. I had wanted to say that to our parents. For a moment, I had seen our mother - thought it was her trying to touch me.

"Renge-" She was already walking away quickly, her shoulders hunched and all I could do was stare after her.

I had screamed at her, I realized. I had told her that she was selfish. I had said terrible, mean things to her. Shame warmed my cheeks. They were true. She was selfish. And she did abandon me, in a way. But she was my sister. And she deserved to be spoken to with respect. Our parents had been the people who really left both of us.

"Renge just left." Haruhi eyed me questioningly as I hobbled back toward the other, my steps stilted with only one shoe. "She looked upset."

"I said some rather unkind things to her, I'm afraid," I whispered, biting my lip.

Her platform was back in the ground, the hut completely intact again.

"Oh," Haruhi murmured, her gaze open and honest as she stared at me. "Well, you too seem to really get along so I'm sure it'll work out."

I blinked. "What?"

"Ko." I turned, trying to blink away the feel like I hadn't just gotten hit with a frying pan. In what world did Renge and I actually get along?

Kyoya sauntered toward me, my wedge held delicately in his hand. His eyes searched me for a moment before he was nudging the shoe toward me. "I believe this is yours."

"My name's Miss Houshakuji," I snapped, tugging on the offending heel in irritation. I puffed out my cheeks. Why did his calling me by my first name send such a flutter through me?

"Ah," he murmured, smirking. "I had just assumed that we were on a first name basis now."

At my blank stare, his smirk grew. "You called me Kyoya earlier."

I spluttered, searching my memory. Had I really called him by his first name? No. I couldn't have. A deep feeling of dread beat through me. I had. When I had been trying to get his attention. Heat burned my cheeks.

"A mistake. I won't be making it again."

"Pity." Did I hear him correctly? Before I could think over it more, he was leaning closer, his breath blowing hotly against my ear. That intoxicating scent was drifting from him again, making my head spin.

"Just to clarify, Miss Houshakuji my family and I haven't broken our agreement." I blinked, my brows furrowing. "The cologne you're wear-"

I could almost feel his the outline of his lips on the shell of my ear, a smirk tugging them up. "I don't wear any cologne, Miss Koushakuji."

I blinked. No. That meant - Oh my god. A short squeak drifted from my lips along with any form of dignity I had come here with. I had entered his playground today and at this moment, I felt like I had suffered a colossal defeat.

He pulled back slightly, his dark eyes twinkling as a few stray strands of hair fell into his eyes. Smiling, he tilted his head, his gaze drifting to my lips before he met my eyes once more.

"But I appreciate your interest in my scent," he murmured, his eyes almost playful. Another squeak burst from my lips before I could stop myself. My mind scrambled before settling on retreat. I needed to withdraw from this battle for today.

"I need to go home," I snapped, gathering myself mental before hurrying to grab my bag. Tamaki and Honey called out to me as I sprinted to the stairs but I couldn't muster anything other than a feeble wave. This had been an utter disaster. Worse yet was the fact that Kyoya had completely decimated all of my defenses.

How could I have made such a blunder? I only allowed myself one last glance back, catching sight of Kyoya. Why did my eyes always gravitate towards him?

He was staring after me, one hand tucked into his pocket while the other pushed up his glasses. Heat prickled my spine as I caught his lazy smile. There was something about that smile - something that reminded me of when an animal caught scent of prey.


	6. The Love Letters

"Renge?" I called, knocking lightly at the heavy oak door, the pudding in my hand jiggling slightly. It had been a couple of days since our trip to the Ootori water park and I had barely caught a glimpse of my sister. I swallowed, staring down at the pineapple pudding. I had made the chef prepare it three times before I finally thought that it tasted sweet enough. It was her favorite…

"Listen, Renge, I - um - I don't know if you're in there but…" My voice wobbled, an irrational urge to cry making my throat tight. Down the hall, I heard the maids rustling about, preparing one room or another in their daily duties. "I'm so sorry. I never meant…"

I did mean them. That was the problem. I meant every word.

"Please - just give me a chance. We can… go somewhere?" I scrambled my brain for something, all the pamphlets that I had shoved in my dress pockets about local anime conventions suddenly seeming… pathetic. "I - I just want to talk to you about it."

Silence. Not even the rustle of blankets. I bit at my lip, the polished wood in front of me suddenly blurring. She hadn't even gotten out of bed to go to school these last few days. The skin at my lip broke, a dribble of blood slipping down to my chin. Was she even here anymore? Had she left to go back to France? Did she hate me that much?

"I'll just leave the pudding here," I finally whispered, setting the tray down gently on the clean wood floors in front of her door. My hands moved to the pockets of my dress. Would she want these? Sighing, I took them out anyway and set them beneath the bowl.

"Miss Houshakuji." I glanced up, seeing the imposing figure of Mrs. Mercier, her hair just as slick and perfect as ever. Her business suit had been pressed to hell without a speck of any lint on the deep blue fabric. "You'll be late."

Cursing, I glanced down at my watch and hurried for the door. I had been late for the last two days.

* * *

"Oh, I can't believe our good luck!" I stared out the window at the clean school grounds. From the classroom, I could see the gardeners as they worked on the front grounds as well as the groundskeepers.

The main courtyards fountain was being tested, the water cleaned and any grime coating the purplish-grey stone scraped off.

"We won't have any evening classes for the next two days," a girl to my right squealed and I resisted the urge to sigh. It had been a little over three months at this school and I still hadn't acquired any friends.

Unwanted, Kyoya's face flashed through my mind. I frowned. Any _real_ friends.

I really should try harder. I could make a lot of business contacts for the family. It was only the moments like this one when I was left to sit quietly at my spot next to the window on one of our many breaks that I realized just how nice it would be to have someone to talk to.

I giggled as one of the younger gardeners went careening to the ground, scared by a nesting bird in one of the bushes he had been trimming.

"What are you laughing at?" I turned at the stern voice, coming face-to-face with a rather studious looking girl. Her hair was an ebony shade that contrasted nicely with her clear, alabaster skin but there was a wiriness at the base that made me think that her natural hair was frizzy. Her glasses glinted in the harsh morning light, enhancing the natural, clear depths of her eyes.

"Who are you?" I asked instead, turning fully in my seat so that I could face her.

"Ah, yes." Her head tipped to the side, an almost mechanical expression going over her face. "My name's Ayame Jounouchi. I'm currently in class 2-A just across the hall. One of the boys there asked me to give you this."

I blinked down at the baby blue envelope, the paper a nice, thick quality.

"I thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce myself since your family is very influential." Ah. There it was. I glanced up with a practiced smile, taking the offered hand tentatively.

"Then I can assume that you came here in relation to business," I said. "The boy that gave you this should have come with you. My family is always open for discussions."

Ayame's brows furrowed, her head tipping to the side. "Oh. He didn't write you a letter to discuss business."

I blinked. Then what did he want? Confused, I glanced back down at the neatly pressed envelope catching sight of the small paper heart that was pressed in wax to the front. My heart sank.

"I suppose it has something to do more with how pretty you are." Gaping, I blinked up at the ebony-haired woman. Her face was still decidedly blank, her eyes calculating something. "He's always talking about you."

"Oh no," I breathed, heat searing my neck and cheeks. Love. My hands trembled, working at the smooth wax seal. Not a confession of love. Please anything but-

_Dearest one,_

_You're eyes are all I can think of. I go to sleep at night and it's your face that pops into my head - your face that I picture when I wake-_

I stopped, sweat dampening my brow.

"He's in your class?" I squeaked.

"Yes."

My eyes fastened on the door. Would it be rude to ignore it? He knew that she sent it here. He was waiting for a reply. I gulped, panic making my chest tight. How did people respond to things like this? Was there a proper way to decline?

Why was I thinking about his family? Oh my god. All I could think about was whether I was ruining a business venture. Did that make me a bad person? Of course, it did! No doubt about it. I was awful. Heinous.

"You can come and meet him if you like," Ayame offered.

Sweat pooled at my neck. "Should I?"

"Huh?" I jumped up before she could finish, pacing nervously in front of her.

"Do you know what his family name is?" I shook my head, her confused expression the only answer I needed. "You're right. Without Mrs. Mercier, I'm utterly useless. Could I get back to him? Maybe run his family background real quick-"

A surprisingly strong hand curled around my forearm, stopping my wild pacing. Honest, clear eyes stared at me. "He's just asking you out on a date."

"Dates are very important," I whisper-hissed, panic making me sweat even more. I probably looked like a pig. Irritated, I tugged at my tie, undoing the first clasp of my dress. "Dates lead to engagements. And engagements lead to marriages which lead to the consolidation of two establishments. Oh my god. What if we get divorced? Jesus Christ. We're going to have to get a prenup."

Dripping with sweat, I panted, my head spinning. Boys weren't something that I thought about. Ruffled hair and greyish-black eyes flashed across my mind. Oh for the love of-

"Woah." Gently, Ayame placed steadying hands on my shoulders, peering into my sweaty, ashen face. "Okay. He just wanted to say that you were pretty. And that he wanted to sit with you at lunch maybe once or twice?"

"I don't like anyone," I pleaded, feeling like I was on trial for a crime. This was someone who actually liked me - in _that way_. What the hell was I supposed to do with that? Sure, Tamaki and the rest of the host club had fooled around, talking sweet to me but at some point, I wondered if the lines had just gotten blurred for them. Did they even know how to carry out a normal conversation anymore?

"Then all you have to do is go tell him that." It sounded so simple when she said it like that.

"Right now?" I breathed, something hot tightening around my stomach and knotting.

For the first time, Ayame smiled, her face softening into something gentle and beautiful. "I mean… if you already know the answer…"

I took a breath. She was right. Even though it made me want to run all the way home, Ayame was right. Shakily, I nodded, waiting an extra moment to collect myself a bit more before I followed her out of the classroom and into the hall.

Across from us sat the classroom for students a grade above us: 2-A. I bit at my lip, opening up the wound from earlier this morning. This was also Tamaki and Kyoya's classroom. I bit back the urge to give a groan of frustration as Ayame opened up the door, giving me an encouraging smile as she waited for me to go in first.

In my hand, the envelope gave a little crunch of discomfort as my hand tightened, crinkling one side.

"MISS HOUSHAKUJI!" I grimaced, flinching at the sunny voice, steeling myself at the blonde haired, violet-eyed man bound toward me, grinning. He would witness this. I would stumble through the right words, fighting for something to say other than "I'm sorry, please don't shun my family."

And so would…

My eyes caught on a familiar set of slate gray eyes, his head tipped to the side as if he were surprised by my sudden appearance.

I blushed, thinking of our last encounter. How I had made an utter fool of myself. How I was about to make an utter fool of myself again.

I wanted to just _die_.

"Iwaslookingforthepersonwhowrotethisletter," I mumbled out quickly and softly, staring down at the pinkish-gold tiles of the floor instead of meeting the wide, honest eyes of Tamaki.

Heat seared my neck, making me feel like I was slowly being spun over a fire.

Gently, Tamaki touched my forearm, leaning down so that he could look into my eyes.

"Why, Houshakuji, whatever is the matter?" If it was possible, I got even hotter. He was speaking to me softly like he was amazed at what he was seeing and also concerned about whether I would bolt from the room. He had also switched over to French, making my nerves quiver with a bit too much appreciation. Why did he have to look so sincere? Why did he have to look like he cared?

Dumbly, I shoved the letter into his hand, watching as he smiled curiously down at it, opening it with a practiced ease.

"What's going on?" I stiffened at the deep voice, trying not to melt into an embarrassed puddle on the floor as Tamaki read through the letter - once, twice. Ink and a sweeter smell reached my nose, making my mind go painfully back to the accusations only a day or two before.

A bemused smile played across Tamaki's face as he held up the letter for Kyoya, who took it with a decidedly blank expression. His eyes were a different story though. His eyes were dark and stormy as they stared down at the delicately worded letter.

"Why, she's gotten a love letter, Kyoya," Tamaki said. His head cocked to the side as he eyed me. "Surely, you've gotten one before..?"

I could _die_. "No. Never."

I was homeschooled. It had been much more effective and I hadn't particularly connected with children my own age. They were all so… uncomplicated.

All offers were made to me through a parent - each one holding a desperate kind of edge that made me think that they were trying to sell off a drowning investment instead of a child.

"Interesting." I glanced up, unsure if I had heard the softly spoken word from the ebony-haired man. All I got was an amused smirk, followed by him tearing it violently in two.

"Kyoya!" Tamaki hissed, yanking the pieces of paper from his grip and tearing it even more in the process. I stared on in horrified silence, watching as my first love letter was ripped to shreds before my very eyes. "These are the sentiments of a man in love! How dare you discard them!"

"I thought we were done with them," Kyoya said blankly, an edge of innocence in his voice as Tamaki shook him by the collar of his shirt.

"Um, hi." I blinked, turning to find a lanky man with reddish hair standing next to me, his hand rubbing at his nape in a way that showed his obvious discomfort and embarrassment. Briefly, his eyes flicked to the torn pages sitting delicately on a desk that Tamaki had set them on. I winced.

"Uh...I guess you got my letter…" How was I supposed to respond to that?

"I am so sorry," I rushed, bowing so deeply that I almost touched my toes. My face burned, the panicked beat of my heart rushing through my ears until that's all I could hear. "It was so sweet - it was the nicest thing that anyone had ever sent me - and it just got torn up-"

"By me," came Kyoya's bland reply, an angry lilt to the wards. A hand tugged at my collar in irritation, an obvious message that he didn't like me bowing at the moment. I slapped at him, not moving from my position.

"I really, really - you said such sweet things but um, I - I-" Why was I having such a hard time forcing the words out? I squeezed my eyes shut tightly.

"But you don't want to go out with me." I blinked, stilling. Slowly, I straightened, staring into a face stretched with a pained smile. Quickly, his eyes ran over my face, red splotches marring his cheeks for a moment as he glanced away. "Ah, but you look so cute. You're not making this easy."

I blinked a couple of times, taken aback. "I - I -"

"I really wasn't expecting you to say yes," he admitted. "I mean, you're you and that's pretty much… yeah…"

"I -" I looked around, blushing as I realized that most of the class had turned to watch us. Kyoya's face was hard, his lips tipped down in obvious fury while Tamaki had a gentle smile on his face, his eyes occasionally going to Kyoya in a secretive way. I gave an embarrassed laugh. "I don't know what to say."

"Eh, you don't have to say anything," the redhead chuckled, his hand extending in a casual offer. Blindly, I took it, my head spinning. "My name's Michi Sachi." His grin grew. "Nice ta meet ya."

"Ko Houshakuji," I breathed, staring up at him in wonder. Was that it? Was that his response to being rejected? It was so...nice.

"Well, at least now we know each other," he said with a chuckle, his hand back to rubbing at his nape. Dazed, I nodded. Michi's eyes flicked to take in Tamaki and Kyoya standing just behind me, a nervous look tightening his face. "I'll see you, Ko."

"Um, ye - yeah," I muttered but he was already turning away. Stunned, I stayed there, blinking at the spot that Michi had just been.

"You did splendid, Miss Ko," Tamaki gushed, clapping with glee. "To think that that was your first time…"

Gentle hands, tipped my chin up. Kyoya had moved to stand just in front of me, his eyes serious as he frowned down at me. His being this close to me made my head spin, a fluttering starting in the pit of my stomach. He really was quite handsome.

"What happened?" I blinked, confusion knitting my brows together.

"What are you-?" Lightly, his finger ran along my bottom lip, probing gently at the ripped skin there. I gasped, my heart giving a responding thump. Stumbling, I tried to regain some sense. "I - I bit my lip too hard."

"Ah," he murmured. But he didn't remove his hand. And he was standing so close. His chest was brushing along mine, his head tipped to the side in that way that made me think that he was thinking over something very serious.

His eyes moved restlessly between my eyes and the torn flesh of my lips, those grey depths swirling with irritation. He was so… I drifted close, my eyes moving to the stern line of his lips. I wonder how it would feel to..?

"Oh, this is nice." I jerked, yanking away from Kyoya's grip at Tamaki's voice.

What had I just been about to do? Panting, I blinked rapidly up at Tamaki's gleeful smile, his hands steepled in front of him. He was almost radiating with joy - vibrating with it.

I was just about to kiss him, I realized. Oh my god. My head spun. I was just about to kiss _Kyoya_. I glanced back at the ebony-haired man, his face decidedly blank. Oh my god. He totally knew it too.

"It was nice seeing you," I rushed, scrambling around some of the desks and quickly out of the door.

What the hell was happening to me?

* * *

_As always, please leave a **REVIEW** and I hope to see you next chapter._


	7. Chapter 7

By the fourth day of my sister's silent treatment, I was thoroughly unhappy.

I yanked on my necktie, nearly choking myself as I glared at the blurry reflection of myself in my mirror. I had long since given up leaving the little treats and offerings in front of my sister's locked door. In school, I stalked around, sneaking to her classroom only to find Haruhi and the twins.

Which was a mind-melting experience every time.

"Have you found a host yet?" one of the twins chirped, leaning closer and closer until his nose nearly brushed mine. Those cat-like eyes of his glinted with a feral sort of intelligence. It was extremely hard for me to distinguish which one of the twins was which until at least five minutes into a given conversation.

They liked to be considered as a unit. It was a safety measure that seemed to have worked for them for an extremely long time. Not only did the twin aspect of their personalities allow them to make a significant amount of money but it made their lives easier. There weren't any emotional obligations that came with other people since they were so absorbed in their own intimate sibling affairs. Most people gave them a wide berth for the simple fact that they wanted people to see them as two separate parts of the same machine.

For this reason, it was extremely hard for me to nail down their individual names.

"We haven't seen you in a while," the other brother quipped, his honey eyes narrowing as if it personally offended him that I wasn't coming to the host club.

"I've been busy," I snapped, too irritated to soften my tone as I saw that my sister wasn't anywhere to be seen. Like usual.

Hissing, I stormed over to my sister's empty desk and yanked open one of her notebooks. _We need to talk,_ I scribbled down before aggressively breaking her pencil in half and leaving it.

"Ah, yeah," the first twin sighed, elbowing his brother with a sly smile. Hikaru, I thought. Hikaru was talking right then. I turned to leave, finding nothing of value in staying and talking to them any further. I would probably ruin any friendly rapport that I had with the twins if I stayed in this horrid mood.

"We heard that you have a _secret,_ Miss Ko," came a cajoling voice and suddenly Kaoru was leaning against one of the desks directly between myself and the exit.

My lips curled before I could control myself, a shock of irritation making my eyes narrow. "I have lots of secrets."

Hikaru's eyes sparkled. "Wanna tell us about them?"

His brother leaned in with a friendly smile, both of their faces softening to ones that obviously implied that they meant that it would be a very private chat and that I would probably be paying them for it.

"I'd rather throw myself down a staircase." I smiled pleasantly up at them. "But thank you."

"From what I hear, a bunch of people want to do that already," Hikaru said cheerily and I blinked, my attention caught. I stopped trying to inch past them. I didn't like threats. Kaoru elbowed his brother, his eyes holding a warning.

"I don't respond well to veiled threats," I whispered, crossing my arms. As I stared at the twins, I thought about how much I had grown to like the host club. They kept life interesting. They even seemed genuine - nice. But I was sure that that was just a cover for some sort of insidious gain. No one who had money and power wasted their time on empty endeavors.

My insides hardened. I would tear them apart in a second if they ever thought that they could threaten me or my family like that.

"You haven't heard," Kaoru suddenly murmured and the twins shared a confused look. His eyes flicked to me once more and some of my anger cooled at the look of concern in his eyes. "Someone took pictures of you and Kyoya."

"Ah man," Kaoru breathed, rubbing a hand through his hair and glancing around.

My mind spun, trying to understand why a picture of Kyoya and I was so terrible. There couldn't be that many. And the majority had to be of us staring aggressively at each other over tea.

"We have fans," Kaoru elaborated. It was a wonder that these guys had any customers with how much they beat around the bush. I had no clue what they were trying to say.

I stared blankly up at them. "And that concerns me because..?"

I knew they had fans. Fans meant money and God knew that Kyoya would never let these boys sell themselves for anything other than an appropriate amount.

Hikaru groaned and his brother winced. "Girls get angry when they see one of the most unattainable guys on campus going after some girl."

I blinked. Well, that was blunt.

"I'm sorry…" A snort broke from me before I could stop it. That sounded a bit hysterical though and I gulped down a breath, something sick and clammy starting to make me feel like I was breathing in water. "Going after?"

"The other day with the whole lip thing…" Kaoru winced again like he was bringing up something particularly painful.

What..? Oh my god. Oh no. Blindly, I reached out for the edge of a nearby desk as my knees gave a wobble. The love letter. Kyoya and the love letter. Kyoya's lips so close to mine. His fingers…

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I squeaked.

The look of pure sympathy on the Hitachiin twins' faces was enough to make me feel sick. Pity was for poor people. Pity meant that you were beneath another. _Pity_ was the last thing that I ever wanted someone to look at me with.

"You guys already have a website," Kaoru muttered, pulling out his page and clicking around a bit before he handed it to me. The last thing that I wanted to do was look at this page. But it was like a train wreck. I couldn't _not_ look.

At the very top of the page was a border that was hazy with a deep pink that faded into a black and photo of Kyoya staring down intently into a girls face. A mass of burgundy curls almost completely obscured her face but I could barely see the pointed tip of her nose and the angular slant of her cheekbones.

That was definitely my nose.

I hated my nose.

"And a fan club," Hikaru threw out casually, pointing to a group of girls that were huddled in the corner with notebooks opened in their laps, their eyes glued to my every movement. At my hazy stare, they gave a few chirped giggles and then condensed into an even smaller huddle of bodies.

"And also an anti-club," Kaoru said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"We're not an item," I whispered, my throat suddenly dry. This couldn't be happening. Not right now. Not when so many other things were going wrong. "Kyoya couldn't have possibly gone along with this."

"Fan clubs don't really need a basis in fact to start," Hikaru said blandly, his eyes slightly glazed. "I mean there's a fan club for Mori and Haruhi too and that's never going to happen."

Comparisons weren't really helping right now. My mind spun. I didn't want fans. Fans were something that people who planned on sticking around would have. I didn't plan on being here for more than a year. More than that, fans created enemies. How the hell did I already have a fan club? This was ridiculous.

The picture had obviously been taken a few days ago when that stupid love letter had gotten me into his class. I had to admit that he looked ridiculously attractive in the picture while I looked frazzled and slightly bewildered. My eyes drifted to my sister's desk again and a deep panic started to rise inside of me. If she found out... Please let her remain oblivious to this.

"Kyoya can't possibly be allowing this to happen," I breathed out, finding sudden solace in the fact that the Ootori's massive wealth also lay in personal security. If anyone would be able to defuse the situation, it would be him.

The heated look that the twins shared quickly popped any balloon of hope I still possessed. When they answered, they spoke together. "Eeeehhh."

Hikari continued on, "Kyoya does whatever he thinks will be the most profitable to the club and himself. Right now, selling this story is making the club a pretty penny. He even published a series of love poems."

I gasped. "He wrote poetry?"

Kaoru snickered. "Nah. He just put together a bunch of poems that he liked and did a book bound version - Byron, Keats, Burns... Made it seem like they were secret love letters that he was sending to you."

Heat seared up my neck. He couldn't even make a couple of lousy poems to sell it all? I sniffed, storming toward the door. I was going to rip his stupid, little perfect face off. Then I was going to read everything he had ever written in the black book he kept.

"He won't be there," one of the twins called as I yanked the door open hard enough that it went slamming into the marble walls, making a bunch of people in the class jump.

"Don't try to protect him," I snapped, livid.

Hikaru smirked, his head tipping to the side. "We're not."

"He has a business meeting today so he won't be in until later," his twin went on, settling his hands into his pockets. A smile curled his lips. "We have a vested interest in your interests now."

Their smiles grew into something purely predatory. "Big sister."

"Oh, you can eat it," I hissed, stalking out of the classroom to my own.

I could see it now. The change. Before this moment, I was quietly accepted. Everyone knew who I was and they also knew that I didn't accept invitations out to parties or ceremonial friendship things like texting each other and giggling over tea. There had always been a separation because of that. That's why I hadn't noticed it before.

But there was a difference in the space that you give someone who doesn't want to be bothered and the space that you give someone that you want to watch. And these girls wanted to watch me.

Even with the Hitachiin's warning, I still went to Kyoya's classroom. I was greeted by a variety of faces - most of which seemed surprised that I had shown up there again. Even Tamaki was mysteriously absent.

"You're boyfriends not here right now," some kid in the back called and the friend beside him gave an appreciative crow.

I stopped, wanting to tell him where he would shove that edamame that was on his desk. Instead, I forced a smile. "I'm glad to see that you pay attention to something, Dohmae. Too bad it's gossip and not all the classes that you're failing out of."

I swept out to a chorus of gasps, my skin crawling with agitation. That wouldn't get me any brownie points with his families real estate organization. I shrugged it off. They were in the renovations of apartments anyway. When was I ever going to live in an apartment?

The rest of the day ticked by in a haze of agitation. I was on edge and that made me volatile. Frazzled. Out of control. All the things that I detested about myself like some kind of illness had compromised my entire personality.

Emotions made people messy. Emotions made businesses crumble. I had snapped at the twins as well as Dohmae in front of an entire classroom. That had been a mistake. I didn't like to make mistakes.

"Miss Ko." I blinked, turning so suddenly that the girl who had wandered over to me startled back. Apparently, I looked like I was about to butcher her entire family because she looked near tears. "I - I was just wondering if you could answer some questions?"

It was then that I noticed the bright pink notebook and the pen that were shivering in her hands. Was she..?

"Are you a journalist?" I asked, astonishment making my question sound like an open threat.

"Um, sort of?" Her long lashes fluttered as she answered nervously. "I have a blog…"

"About what?" I asked bluntly, my guards raising.

"Well, your relationship with Kyoya Ootori…" I'm sure it was the grimace that made her putter off into silence. "There's a rumor-"

"Please don't continue," I snapped before I could stop myself. The pencil in my hand snapped. Two pencils down, a million more to go. I forced myself to take a calming breath, rubbing a hand over my face.

"I just wanted to ask how you got him," came the girl's small voice and I snorted. "He's known as the ice king. He's always charming but no one's ever gotten close to him…"

There was a moment of awkward silence where I felt the girl's wide eyes searching my face. That was such an absurd thing to say. Did she want me to tell her how I had possessed him? How I had captured him and held him down? Was that what she thought loving someone was? What an awful, horrid thought.

"No one can ever catch a man like Kyoya Ootori," I finally said, looking away to the scattered papers on my desk. For some reason, the thought of capturing him made me almost sad.

A bell sounded somewhere far away and I suddenly realized that classes were done for the day. Time to go face the man who had been chasing me through the day, even if he wasn't here.

"I'm sorry to end this so suddenly however I have some business to attend to." I got up abruptly, sweeping all of my books into my bag before smiling politely at the young journalist and moving towards the door.

"Wait!" The girl hopped behind me, scribbling something down. "Just one more question! One more and I'll never bother you again."

Well, that was a good trade. I turned slightly.

"What is the status of your relationship with Kyoya?" Oh, that was rich. Should I answer honestly? "You've been keeping it a secret but with that picture being leaked, the whole school knows that _somethings_ going on."

My eyes narrowed onto the girl. This was going to get irritating really fast, I realized. Should I lie? Would it benefit me to?

The answer was simply no. It would be an absolute pain in my ass to have people thinking that I was in a relationship with someone like Kyoya. The school media would be all over me. The host club was so flamboyant that it would be hard to go a day without some kind of grand show.

"Kyoya Ootori is the bane of my existence," I answered plainly and those words felt like a release of sorts. As if I had been holding in a breath and finally I had exhaled.

The girl's watery eyes blinked up at me, her bejeweled pen poised over her notepad. She was expecting me to profess my love.

"Have a good day." I smiled, nodding as I turned away and left. It would be a hot day in heaven before I submitted to writing a soliloquy about Kyoya Ootori.


	8. A Challenge is Issued!

"Welcome, princess," came the harmonious voice of all six of Ouran High School Host Clubs members.

"Oh shove it," I snapped, giving the door a hefty kick as it slowly opened before me. Rose petals slapped me in the face, flying in my mouth as I snarled, storming into the renovated music room.

Today the hosts were decked out in individually made suits of armor, each sporting their own unique color. Just behind the couch that Kyoya lounged on in his stupid charcoal armor, the twins looked positively gleeful in their matching jester attire, a giant feather pluming from their musketeer hats. Those grayish eyes tipped up from the black ledger book in his hands, something like quiet consideration making his face decidedly blank. Oh, he was good. Very good.

In the back, milling about were a few ladies. Upon my arrival, they had all snapped around, some with an almost ravenous glint in their eyes. The host club ran on a time system. There was a reception zone of about 45 minutes that they used for greeting, host assignment and placement. The rest of the five hours after school were doled out to each group for the individual hosts to use as they pleased. Usually, they used that time to play along with whatever fantasy Tamaki had concocted up for today.

Today was the type of day that the ladies got rescued from towers where dragons kept them captive.

" _Princesse_ Ko," Tamaki chirped, looking vaguely surprised and I briefly stalled out, dipping down into a curtsy. He continued on in French, his smile disarming. "This is such a pleasant surprise! Have you come to try and meet your prince charming?"

I didn't miss the glance that he flicked to Kyoya whose attention who had been grabbed, his eyes snapping as he leaned forward in his seat.

"The opposite," I replied in French, grimacing as Tamaki's smile faltered. My eyes narrowed on the dark-haired boy that I could see just over the blondes broad shoulders, his eyes flickering with laughter as he leaned back a little bit into the low couch he was sitting on. His smirk said it all. Kyoya knew what I was here for. He knew that I wanted to tear him apart. And he enjoyed it. Maybe even welcomed it a bit.

Tamaki caught the look, his expression growing nervous. "Would you like some tea-?" I cut him off, enraged as my eyes stayed locked in Kyoya's mocking gaze.

"No." I stalked past him, heading straight toward the dark and handsome silhouette of Kyoya who had begun to lean back fully, a smirk curling his lips. I jabbed a finger at him. "You."

"It seems we _are_ on a first-name basis, Ko," Kyoya said with an infuriating smirk. He was absolutely insufferable.

"Yes. I'm so glad our relationship has evolved to this stage," I said with false sweetness before my smile completely dropped and I sneered down at him. "You _ass_."

A single black brow quirked, that smile still in place as he stayed seated, his posture lazy.

"How could you?" I hissed, taking a quick glance around and finding the stare of nearly all of the girls who had decided to attend the host club today. The other hosts had taken up positions a bit away in front of the door, their eyes studiously trained on the entrance even though they were obviously close enough to catch each word of our exchange. "How dare you inflate this ridiculous rumor?"

"I assume you mean the assumption that you and I are currently involved in a very passionate and very secret relationship?" His smile was downright evil.

"I'm sure that you have so little to occupy your time that this farce is amusing," I snarled, angry, red blotches crawling up my neck. "However, I have better things to do than amuse your followers."

"Ah, that's a bit cruel," he mused. "Especially considering that they're _your_ followers now as well."

"Oh really?" I seethed, taking a step closer so that I could lean over his seated form. My arms crossed tightly over my chest as I glared down at his cool face. "From what I've found, there are a far greater number of people that want to see me pushed into the school pond for-" I put on my best dazed, love-struck expression, my voice raising to twittering chirp. "Capturing the heart of the unattainable and completely aloof ice king of the Ouran Host Club."

I dropped my expression when Kyoya's eyes darkened with something that looked too much like enjoyment. He was just narcissistic enough to enjoy fawning.

The truth was that although Tamaki had the most appointments that might have been because of the simple fact that on a regular basis, Kyoya refused to take clients. When I had learned this I had thought that the cause might lay more with his lack of free time due to the management of the club that he had taken on. However, the more I learned about him, the more I realized that it might have something more to do with the fact that he knew women. Girls loved a boy who couldn't seem to make time for them.

"Well, I'm overjoyed that you were the one to capture my icy heart, Ko," Kyoya said, his voice deepening and softening as those eyes stared up at me. Something dark and hot sent tingles along my skin. I did not have time to dissect this feeling.

"You need to stop this," I hissed, taking a step back as he got up slowly. For a moment, I was reminded that he was considerably taller than I was and it knocked me off balance as I tipped my head back to stare up at his angular face.

"I don't see why I have to." The nonchalance that he said that drove me crazy.

"Kyoya," I breathed, ignoring the smug glance that he sent me as I used his given name. I stepped closer, lowering my voice so that the watchful eyes of the host club wouldn't hear us. "This has no good outcome. There is no gain to this plan. If anything, this would bring your sales _down_. Girls would surely stop coming to see you if they think that you have a girlfriend."

His head tipped to the side, his eyes narrowing as if he was annoyed at something. My eyes pleaded silently with him. "Actually, my requests have nearly doubled. Along with an outstanding number of private sessions which - I can assure you - aren't cheap."

I bit back a rush of rage, confused at my irrational emotions. Kyoya and I weren't actually dating. He could get as many girls as he wanted to.

"You can take those appointments and shove them up your ass, Ootori," I blurted out before I could stop myself. Well, that definitely wasn't what I had wanted to say. Kyoya's eyes swirled with amusement.

"I'm really glad that we could reach this new level of our relationship," he drawled. "It's-"

"Aggressive?" I suggested blandly.

"Interesting," he finished with a grin.

Taking a breath, I tried to regroup. I needed him to stop this ludicrous fan club. Finally finding some last shred of calm that I had flown into Japan with, I opened my eyes. I was a lake. I was a lake with still waters. There were no ripples. Only calm. Only serenity.

I smiled, watching the way that Kyoya's gray eyes flicked over my face as if he were trying to lap up every detail. Like a play that he was watching intently. "Please, Kyoya. There's _nothing_ between us." His face pinched, his lips tipping down. "This whole thing will cause you nothing but trouble. You know, I'll fight this every step of the way."

"Why?" What did he mean why? Was "I didn't want to" not good enough for him?

I blinked up at him, flabbergasted. His eyes narrowed, his face tightening with concentration. "There is a lot to be gained from a relationship with me. My family and yours have worked together for a very long time. You don't annoy me." His head tipped to the side, his smirk softening as his eyes ran over my face. "And you're rather lovely." His hand came up slowly, curling a bit of my hair around his fingers as he smiled down at me. "When you want to be."

I spluttered, my face burning. I felt like a mouse being batted around by a cat, my heart rapping against my ribs.

"My mission in life isn't to please you, Kyoya Ootori," I finally whispered, still dazed as he brought a few strands of my hair to his lips, his eyes like a stormy day as he stared down at me.

"I think you're ignoring the clear benefits of this situation," he murmured and for a moment, his lips tipped up into something that looked suspiciously like a genuine smile. Distantly, I thought I heard a few girls squeal.

"No," I clarified. "I haven't found _any_ part of this to benefit me. I rarely find a group of girls plotting to throw me into a locked closet until I wither away and die beneficial."

"You would get 20% of the substantial money that's being made online," Kyoya said blandly.

My brows rose. "70%."

That single brow quirked again. "40." When I opened my mouth to debate, he cut me off. "Creative fee."

I sneered. "I think you're forgetting that I'm the unwilling party. 50."

His eyes lit with interest and enjoyment, his fingers tugging at the strands of my hair that he still had tangled around his fingers. "Negotiation insinuates interest."

My eyes narrowed. Damn. My instincts had kicked in when he started to rap off the numbers. I puffed out my cheeks, debating. "Negotiation is the preamble to actual interest. If I was interested, you would know."

His eyes darkened to a deep, thundering grey. "Your sister…"

My interest peeked, my muscles tightening at the mention of her name. One of the reasons why I couldn't get involved with Kyoya Ootori.

Kyoya gently untangled his fingers from my hair, tucking it behind my ear to another series of gasps and the distinct clicking of a few cameras. "Your sister comes here often. How often do you see her?"

My shoulders went up, a feeling of insecurity creeping up my spine. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"This endeavor will allow you to see her on a regular basis," he said with a critical eye that cut right to my bone. "She won't give up the host club and perhaps this will allow you to see her in a different light. Perhaps… some understanding of each other is what you two need."

A ball of anxiety and hurt was clogging my throat, making it hard to breathe. As I stared into those dark, penetrating eyes, I saw...honesty. He was speaking the truth. And the fact that he had seen that in my sister and me, maybe that was what hurt so much. The fact that outsiders could sense the rift between us. The fact that he had seen my longing to reach her, to understand her.

I looked away, irrational shame burning my cheeks.

"She wouldn't talk to me even if I was here," I whispered, the words somehow hard to push out. I could picture her uncertainty - the way she would feel pushed out of a place that she had thought was safe. She would hate me even more. And I wasn't sure I could bear that.

"So you're willing to never speak to your sister again?" His eyes clouded over and I winced. Would that be what I was doing if I stopped pushing for her attention? I had already tried so hard… But did that mean that I was just going to stop because she wasn't responding? "I didn't take you for the type to give up so easily."

I couldn't bear to lose my sister as well as our parents. I would cling onto her for as long as I could. Even if she hated me for it.

My lips thinned. "I'll need our agreement in writing as well as a follow-up meeting with a third party to verify limitations, time frames, and rules."

His eyes lit with something that looked startlingly like happiness and he gave me a small, soft smile. "I'll have my assistant contact yours to set up times and dates." Before I could give a grunt of acknowledgment he had grabbed onto my hand and raised it to his lips. Soften and warm, they pressed against my open palm, sending hot tingles dancing up my skin. His eyes flicked up to mine and I could feel his lips moving softly along the sensitive skin there. "I look forward to our continued cooperation."

My eyes narrowed as I yanked my palm away, giving him a tight smile. He had won a bit too easily. And more than likely that came from my raw desperation. It made me want to mess with him. Wildly, my heart jumped as a mad idea bubbled up inside of me.

"How about a wager?" I breathed, drawing closer to him until I could feel the warmth of him against my skin. I smiled, watching his eyes darken and that familiar smirk drop slightly as his expression turned hard and sharp. Slowly, I brought a hand up, resting it just above his heart. His jaw flexed. "The person who raises the most profit wins."

"Wins what?" he questioned and I was surprised to hear that his voice had gone low and gravely.

Idly, I moved my hand moved to the color of his shirt, toying with it as my heart raced. What was I doing? "I don't particularly know. I haven't decided what I want from you yet. Let's leave it up to the moment."

His eyes darkened further, churning like charcoal about to burst into flames. "How do I win?"

I smiled, catching the way that his hands were clenching and unclenching by his side. I had no idea what I was doing but it seemed to be working. And I was enjoying it. I was enjoying the electricity that was crackling between us, the way that the air around us was warm and seemed to vibrate with… something - something that I had never experienced before.

"Ideas," I said. "We'll each come up with different marketing ideas centered around this fake relationship and calculate up the total at the end. It'll be fun."

"And I can ask for anything?" The way that his voice deepened made me pause for a moment, my breath stalling at his hard gaze.

I pushed it away, giving a flippant smile. "You don't need to think too hard on it, Kyoya since I'll be the winner."

His expression was serious as he stared down at me. "I already know what I want."

I blinked, startled and for a moment I was lost for words. The way that he was staring at me… Unsure, I backed away. That sounded like trouble.

Slowly, a smile curled his lips and his glasses flashed. "By the way… all the proceeds made before this moment automatically go in my favor. You're down by nearly 50,000 yen, Ko."

I spluttered, growing flustered. What in the world had he been doing to make that much money in only a few days? Gritting my teeth, I hissed. He was insufferable. But… I could easily make that back.

Raising my voice, I pinched down onto my arm until tears pricked my eyes. If he wanted a display of love than he was going to get it. "You know I hate it when you work here." Giving a forced sob, I reached forward, clutching onto his shirt, bowing my head into his chest. His eyes widened. "I can't be with you if I can't have you all to myself!"

Shaking my head, I turned to rush away, clutching a hand to my eyes to hide the fact that I wasn't actually bawling my eyes out. But I did catch the astonished look that was making Kyoya gape at me. I stifled my grin, sprinting out of the room and into the near-silent hallways. I had also caught the bewildered expressions of the other hosts as I had made my exit.

From the whispers and screams that were currently piercing through the host club's doors, my display had worked. I grinned. There was no way I was going to lose this.


	9. Old Flames and New Rivalries!

"Your daughters are very cute."

I didn't glance up from my plate of steak and asparagus - two things that I utterly detested. My eyes wandered to the toddler just a table or two away, smeared with ketchup, gnawing at a french fry as his mother laughed, dabbing pointlessly at the mess. If Renge or I did that, our mother would take us into the back and give us a slap.

"She knows three languages already," my mother said, her sunglasses flashing in the bright sun of California. We were in some kind of seaside club entertaining one of our families more influential business partners.

Beside me, Renge gave a small mutter of discomfort, pulling at the collar of her tight button-up shirt. Her skin was too fair for this blistering heat and it was showing. Silently, I took off my own wide-brimmed hat and put it on her head, the sun giving an almost immediate yelp of triumph against my skin.

"Ah!" the spindly woman exclaimed, clapping her hands with a fake nod of interest. My father took another gulp of whiskey from his place on the other side of me, trying to feign interest in the bland talks of children and mundane life. My mother was better at these kinds of discussions while my father much preferred the straight forward talk of business. "Our little Annabelle doesn't even speak two! Aren't they around the same age?"

My mother's answering smile was smug enough to make me feel self-conscious. "Eight last month."

"Which languages?" The woman's eyes gleamed at me almost hungrily across the table. "Can she speak?"

Renge choked a bit on the piece of broccoli and salmon that she was trying to choke down. I pushed water towards her, frowning across the table at the couple. _Americans_.

"You have something on your teeth," I replied blandly in Japanese, earning an awed clap from the couple and an awkward cough and two identical glares from my parents. Our business partners in the states rarely knew a lick of anything besides English. It was a safe bet to assume that anything I said in French or Japanese would completely go over their heads. As long as they didn't have one of those pesky translators following them.

"What did she say?"

My mother gave a pained smile, replying tightly, "She said that you're quite pretty and that she wishes to meet your daughter."

I ignored the daggers that my father was throwing me, staring down at the mass of meat that was on my plate. Why were the serving sizes so big in America?

"Oh dear," the woman replied, looking slightly love-struck. "What an _angel_. My Annabelle would love to meet you." She was speaking to me like I was a child. My mouth tipped down, making my father lean over to give me a pinch under the table until my lips tipped back up. "Does she play any instruments?"

"The piano," my father threw out and Renge laughed, earning a glare from our mother. In all honesty, Renge was the one who was truly talented in the arts. "She has more of a mind for figures."

"Yes!" My mother exclaimed with such excitement that my stomach churned. "She's far better with math, I'm afraid."

"Oh…" The couple shared a long glance that I could decipher. "Well… to each their own, I suppose."

That sounded a little bit mean. Renge's pouty lips tipped down, her cheeks puffing up like a balloon as she glared across the table at the couple.

The dinner teetered on after that, unsteady and disjointed in which I was forced to demonstrate a variety of times that I could in fact speak three languages and where I was forced to mentally add up the bill before the waiter could come back with the check. Like a trained animal, jumping through hoops.

However, in the world of the elite dynasties like my parents had, even children were a point of money. Social situations that include American families like this one depended heavily on the persuasion of not only the parents but their children. I tipped my head to the side, watching the way that my sister poked around at her food, frowning across the table at the skinny woman and her husband. Renge would never be able to stop herself from giving her entire being to a relationship.

When my mother got me home, she enrolled me in violin and cello lessons and doubled my piano. Father had quickly cut down on my sister's lessons to accommodate me, placing a delicate sort of strain on our relationship. Sometimes I would see her at the door, her eyes luminous and searching as I clanged away at the keys or those strings, focusing more on the chaotic turns of Samuel Barber, the eventual dissolving into agony that I felt in his songs.

I had watched her sometimes in her own private lessons, the gentle way that she handled her instruments and the way that her tutors loved her for it. My parents didn't attend any of my lessons or ask to hear about my progress. They knew that I found little joy in the endeavors but also that I would accomplish the feeble milestones that they gave me. There was nothing to question.

But with Renge there was a soft sort of compassion. She was distant from everyone but the people that she cared about and perhaps that was what made my parents long for her attention since she was a babe. I was the firstborn - the one that would take up the business, the one who was given the mantel. But Renge was treated with a gentleness that made me burn from within. She was given the freedom to love what she liked.

The firstborn is never allowed that.

* * *

"Why am I here?" It had been only a day since our little agreement and already I had been bombarded with a pile of letters and a stunning amount of invitations to a variety of social events. Apparently, my coupling with Kyoya immediately opened me up for dinner invites again.

"I sent your secretary a message," Kyoya eyes flashed behind the frames of his glasses, a knowing smile curling his lips. Beside me, Mrs. Mercier stiffened.

A willowy man beside Kyoya was shown the same interest in me as my governess was showing to the young Ootori. She had done a bit more digging into his background when she had gotten the message from his assistant and come up with so little that she had refused to even speak to me about it. In my own defense, I had warned her of his family's affinity for secrecy and their ability to keep it.

"What I mean is why am I currently standing in the Host Club, _sweetheart_ ," I snapped with a venomous smile that he seemed to eat up with a fierce sense of joy.

"I was under the impression that you didn't like my extracurricular activities," he said with a raised brow. "So I thought our meeting should happen here so that you could see my loyalty… _darling_."

I sent him a glare which he fully returned with an amused stare.

A squeal from just a few couches away drew my attention and I saw a gaggle of girls fanning themselves, trying desperately to look like they were too engrossed in their tea and macaroons to notice our conversation. Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I swept closer to Kyoya, placing a hand on his cheek and lowering my voice so that there would be no chance of being overheard. His eyes swirled darkly, a few stray strands of his hair falling across his forehead in a deceptively charming way. My heart gave an irrational squeeze.

"Will we regularly meet in the Host club or is this a special occasion?" I forced out, looking up at him expectantly.

A large hand spanned my waist, warm and reassuring as he pressed me a bit closer. His head tipped to the side, angling toward me to a few gasps in the room. The grey of his eyes shown in the evening light filtering in from the windows. "You're someone that I want to be seen with, Ko."

I blinked. How was I supposed to respond to that? My throat closed, my heart beating too fast. My reaction to him was getting to be so infuriating. Heat burned at my cheeks.

"Well, someone put on their host hat today," I snipped, trying to hide my irrational reaction. My eyes moved over the armor that they had worn only a couple of days before. "You're doing the knight theme again?"

Kyoya's head tilted toward where Tamaki was fawning over one of his many admirers. She looked like she was about to faint.

"A bit unoriginal," Kyoya admitted blandly, his arm still wrapped around my waist, my chest still pressed into his side. "But Tamaki insisted that we redo it since our last version of this evening was… less than perfect."

His eyes slid over to me in a way that made it clear that I was the factor that had caused Tamaki's last themed host club to go down in apparent flames. I rolled my eyes. What a drama queen.

"How much did you make that day, by the way?" I asked nonchalantly, picking at his collar until his eyes narrowed. "On the website, I mean."

His eyes narrowed even further. "A little over 70,000 yen." Kyoya's mouth thinned. "May I ask why the sudden interest?"

I stared down at my nails, the light lavender color actually a nice compliment to the deep purple accents of Kyoya's outfit. Perhaps the color coordination was the cause of some of the pointing and whispering that we were getting at the moment. Kind of irritating that my preference for purple was even being connected to him now.

"Just wondering what my profit was," I said with a light smile as Kyoya's eyes flashed.

"We'll need exact numbers," Mrs. Mercier cut in, her eyes flashing as she snapped open the ledger in her hands. I had had to fill her in on all the sordid details as of late, a moment in which I cringed to remember. She had been less than happy with the sibling rivalry that had been going on without her knowledge. I had nearly seen the flames rise up behind her as she had started to concoct all sorts of schemes.

Beside Kyoya, the thin-set man gave a frown. "Master Ootori has no legal obligation to get you those numbers."

I tipped my head to the side, considering as Kyoya watched me closely. Our little business endeavor had little legality to it but if he wanted to play it like that… I nodded.

"Very true," I admitted, gesturing to a four seated table with some hot tea. "Shall we start then?"

I could practically feel Mrs. Mercier's gaze burning into the back of my head. Kyoya's little secretary was about to become her chew toy if he wasn't careful.

Silently, we all moved to the table, taking seats across from each other like two opposing factors discussing a peace treaty. In a way, that's what it felt like - a strategic retreat on both of our parts so that the surrounding battlefield wouldn't be completely decimated.

"As previously discussed, this meeting will be in regards to an independent business venture between the named parties of Kyoya Ootori and Ko Houshakuji," the thin man started once Kyoya had folded himself lazily into the seat across from me, his face decidedly blank. I imagined my own was set into the same polite expression, one that I had used to often that it had quickly become a sort of second skin, something comfortable and loose that I could slip into whenever the setting required it. "We'll begin by setting up the ground agreements on the basis of financial understanding which-"

I cut him off, tired of the kindergarten explanations. I had been the frontline of my families business for the last five years which meant that it was honestly insulting to have him talk to me as if I hadn't gone through deals like this over a hundred times. Kyoya's brow tipped up, his chin resting comfortably on his fist as he lounged back into his chair.

"Lovely," I said with a smile. "First, I would like to have all financial rights to online sales and club sales."

"I wasn't done -"

"Financial summaries," Kyoya cut his secretary off, his glasses flashing as he dropped his languid pose, leaning forward across the table. "You'll have daily overviews as well as general access to the online sales reports."

"Aw, do you not trust me with financial rights?" I purred, leaning forward as well.

"Perhaps down the line," Kyoya replied, a smile curling his lips.

"Very well," I waved a hand and Mrs. Mercier pulled out a slim laptop so that she wouldn't have to take written notes, her glasses flashing. Unhappy, Kyoya's assistant did the same.

For the next half an hour, general guidelines were drawn as well as a variety of basic agreements that were signed and resigned and then co-signed just in case we didn't get the message the first read-over. Reading the fine print was the most tedious part of the whole affair, my eyes starting to water as I glanced at the quickly piling stack of papers beside me. Reading had always been one of those activities that I had enjoyed before the up-take of my role in the family businesses. Now, my eyes were just too filled with business forms to want to pick up a book for pleasure.

"You wear glasses?" Kyoya's eyes were sharp as they glanced up from his own stack of papers. The one thing that I had to give him was that he was a much faster read than I was.

Frowning, I fidgeted with the papers in front of me, trying to ignore the weight of the giant tortoise glasses weighing my nose down. I had tried for awhile to get through the pile without putting them on but my eyes had started to ache and my head had started pounding. Not to mention that Mrs. Mercier kept nudging my glasses case closer and closer to me until it had slammed into my elbow.

"Reading glasses," I mumbled. Honestly, I thought I looked horrid with them and they had always been a point of contention. Self-conscious, I tucked a few stands of hair behind my ear.

Kyoya's eyes seemed to catch everything, a soft sort of light burning in their depths as he continued to stare at me even as I muddled my way through the rest of the documents. What could possibly be so interesting about my giant glasses?

"They look nice on you." I blinked, the words on the paper turning into gibberish. What..? Heat burned my cheeks as I blinked up at the obsidian haired man across from me.

"I -" I stumbled, my mind freezing momentarily. Mrs. Mercier's eyes cut over to me sharply. I finally mumbled out a "thank you," before whipping up my packet of papers to hide my face. I could deal with Kyoya arguing with me but being nice? I wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Here we have our final document to sign, solidifying the final agreement and acceptance of all proposed terms…" I rubbed at my temples, trying to calculate the final sums and percentages that we were getting from this agreement. Along with all off our copies of the documents were summaries from the previous sales of the host club. They had actually been making out with a fair bit more money than I anticipated.

However, their themes had the occasion to overdraft their daily income which was...troubling. And an oversight that Kyoya had made up with online sales of posters and personal paraphernalia of the hosts.

Which I had to admit was a very good decision. With a business like the host club, looking extravagant was part of the appeal. Cutting from the inside such as having cheaper cookies or teas would affect the guests more so since even the school cafeteria offered such things. So expanding cheaply would be the only solution.

"I'm sure this will be the start of a very good partnership," Kyoya murmured, giving me a small smile across the table as I signed.

"Hopefully," I replied, offering up my hand for a handshake to settle the deal. Those startling greyish eyes met mine before his lips were softly skimming across my knuckles. My heart jerked, squirming around in my ribcage until I could barely breathe. Why did he have this effect on me?

"I wonder if he thinks that's what makes women happy." I blinked, that light voice drawing me back to the present so quickly that my head spun. Kyoya's eyes had also wandered to the door, his head still bent over my hand.

A giggly voice chimed in. "What can you do, Sister Suzuran?" Standing in the entrance of the host club was a willowy young woman with mousy brown hair that nearly reached her waist, her eyes unamused as she stared down at where Tamaki knelt before her. "Men are lower life forms who prize their honor above all else."

A shorter girl with a bobbed hairstyle stood just beside the other. They were both decked out in a crimson uniform with a trimmed waist and a loose, cropped top. I knew these girls from somewhere. I knew…

"Lobelia," I whispered, surprised as the name popped into my brain. I glanced at Kyoya who had straightened by now, his eyes flashing as he frowned across the room at the pair of girls.

"They take their own futility in being unable to protect even one of their kind and change it into something to suit themselves," the shorter-haired girl continued on and I was honestly astonished to see the other hosts taking it in mild silence. Were they even listening to what these girls were saying to them? "Isn't that condescending?"

By the blank expression that the Hittachin twins had on their face and the way that they were discreetly playing thumb war behind the loveseat, they obviously weren't paying attention.

"My, Hinigiku, you're such a clever girl!" the willowy girl exclaimed with a giggle.

I got up quickly as Tamaki stood, bringing his sword up to rest on his shoulder. My eyes flicked to Kyoya nervously, his hand slipping from mine as he gave a quiet sigh and stood, tipping up his glasses with a finger.

"Should we stop them?" I asked quietly as he moved to stand beside me. One of his hands moved idly to his pocket, his posture almost lazy.

"Tamaki doesn't get riled easily," Kyoya murmured, his face smooth.

I blinked. "I see him cry and shout almost every time I'm here. It's like a goddamn soap opera in here."

Slowly, his eyes flicked to me and there was a sort of amused restraint there that made me pause and rethink every interaction I had ever had with Tamaki. Had he ever been truly angry?

"That's pretty harsh, huh?" Tamaki teased, his voice light. "Well, then what would you like me to tell you?"

"Good question," a new voice piped up from the doorway and I stilled, something inside of me going very very quiet. No. It couldn't be… "In my case, it would be, "I would never leave my lover alone."

"Benio," I grumbled, hearing Mrs. Mercier's quiet groan. We had both had the pleasure of her acquaintance in my younger years when our families had hoped to see us as friends. And more than likely business acquaintances.

It was too bad she was such a giant prick.

"If we fight it will be together!" Benio went on, her long legs extended in something I'm sure only a ballet teacher could pound into her thick skull. I grimaced, sneering as she twirled a shell-shocked Haruhi this way and that. "IF WE PREVAIL NOT, WE SHALL MEET OUR FATE TOGETHER. EVEN THOUGH I PERISH-"

Barf. Okay. I had heard enough. Everyone but Kyoya and Mrs. Mercier was so enthralled by the spectacle that they didn't see me making my way across the room, that I could slip a foot just past the entrance…

"-never leave your - er-up!" Benio exclaimed as she went down in a pile of lanky legs and overzealous hand gestures. I watched the whole ordeal with an enormous amount of glee, snagging Haruhi's arm so that she wouldn't go crashing down into the treacherous tangle of octopus arms that was Benio.

"BENIBARA-SAMA!" The two Lobelia girls exclaimed, rushing forward to pet the ego of their fallen leader. I rolled my eyes.

"When did you get here, Lady Ko?" Haruhi asked, readjusting the paper grocery bag in her hands. I glanced inside. What the hell was instant coffee?

"Oh, just an hour or so ago," I answered, picking up a fallen container and placing it back in her bag with a frown. I had never really seen coffee that wasn't in the whole bean form or already made. In France, coffee was a way of life as was bread and pastries. "Kyoya and I had to finish up some legal finalities."

"Ah," Haruhi mused, both of our eyes following the little charade of Tamaki trying to help Benio up and then being slapped away by all three girls. "So that's why he hasn't really been paying attention all day."

"What?"

"WHO DARES TO HAVE TRIPPED ME?" Benio exclaimed, finally getting her deer legs beneath her enough to get to an upright position.

"Benibara," the two girls whined, tears in their eyes as they brushed the much taller girl off.

"I did," I volunteered, stepping out from my alcove with Haruhi so that I could be face to face with one of my oldest and most annoying acquaintances. Delicately, I folded my arms over my waist, smoothing my face into cold indifference as Benio's expression went from outrage to shock.

"K - Ko?" Was that an actual question that I needed to answer? "What in the world are you doing in a hovel like this? Subjecting yourself to such horrendous company?"

"Hovel?" Tamaki gasped, clutching at his doublet. "Our floors were imported from France!"

"Don't listen to her, brother," Hikaru murmured, patting Kaoru's back. "I think you're an absolute delight."

"Vacation," I said, waving a hand around in an effort for nonchalance.

"Benibara," the short-haired girl started, her eyes flicking over me like I was a trout that had just walked onto her private beach. "Who is the girl? How do you know her?"

I resisted the urge to grimace. The way that Benio told it-

"My first love!" the lanky girl sobbed, the lights dimming somehow as she burst into spontaneous tears. I sighed. Here we went. "I was but a child and yet - and yet I never knew that such blinding emotions could be felt."

Her hand reached out for me as if she was trying to touch a painting in a roped-off area. I grimaced, slapping it away. She was outrageous.

"Even when I was small," she continued on, curling around her reprimanded hand with a dazed sort of pain. "I knew that my love for her would burn as hot as a thousand lamps in the night-"

I couldn't take it anymore. Especially with how much Tamaki was eating it up. Honey had even climbed onto Mori, his eyes wide as he stared owlishly down at me. Kyoya had even moved closer, his brows tipping up.

"You're an absolute diva, Benio," I snapped, turning away from the shocked expression and the little gasps that her two fangirls gave. "We were childhood playmates. Her mother wanted her to dress more like a girl so she brought Benio around Renge and I. What an absolute farce. Stop lying about our affiliation or I'll press charges for slandering my character."

"Is it so awful to be associated with me?!" Benio wailed, curling into herself as the two girls cooed over her.

"How could you be so cruel?" the willowy one exclaimed.

"Is she not even allowed to love you from afar?" the shorter one jumped in.

Enough.

"WE WERE SEVEN!" I snarled, my cool demeanor dropping as I stalked closer and they quivered.

"Oh my god, she looks like her sister," the twins whispered, ducking behind the loveseat.

"Medusa," Mori murmured to an awed affirmation by Honey.

"A whole family of Medusas," Honey agreed quietly.

"I THOUGHT I WAS BEING STALKED BY SOME PERVERT FOR YEARS!" I shrieked. "Do you know how concerning it is for an eight year old to get a profession of love from some unknown person written in _crayon_?!"

"I WANTED IT TO BE COLORFUL!" Benio wailed. "And I was just so shy, I couldn't possibly put my name. Signing as your secret admirer was so much more tactful."

"For years, you threw these obnoxious pop-up weddings," I snarled, gaining speed. "All while writing these frankly _creepy_ letters and then you enrolled me at some stupid all-girls school-"

"It couldn't be -" the shorter one gasped, turning to Benio with wide eyes.

"I WANTED HER CLOSE TO ME!" Benio wailed, dainty tears appearing slowly in her eyes as she clutched at her top.

"I THOUGHT SOME 30-YEAR-OLD PERVERT WAS GOING TO COME AND KIDNAP ME!" I screamed, nearly tearing my hair out.

"Well, that just seems like an over-assumption on your part," Benio replied.

"Mrs. Mercier!" I snapped, throwing a finger at her. Across the room, I heard the click of a briefcase and then the taps of her nails as she went through our laptop. Slowly, the host club turned to her.

"I will build a castle made of snickerdoodles," she read off in a monotonous voice, her glasses flashing as she scanned over the old, written letters that we still had on our computer systems. "I know you like them. That way you'll want to stay with me forever-"

"I WAS SEVEN!" Benio protested.

"August 15th." Mrs. Mercier continued, clearing her throat. "I saw you climb that tree in your backyard. I know you fell. Next time, I'll be there to help you up so that you won't get hurt. I'll give you a snickerdoodle."

"Damn," Kaoru murmured. "Did you really like snickerdoodles that much?"

"They're the world's greatest invention. Every other cookie is an abomination," I snapped, waving a hand. "Please continue, Mrs. Mercier."

"Very well. August 16," Mrs. Mercier continued. "I like your hair -"

"STOP!" Benio screamed, growing whiter and whiter as my governess continued. "Please. I beg you."

Mrs. Mercier glanced at me. I nodded.

"That was a bit…" the shorter-haired girl murmured and both girls gave a wince.

Across the room, Kyoya was frowning.

"I know," Benio moaned. Sudden light flashed in the crumpled woman's eyes as she looked at me, her feet beneath her before I could even blink. "But I have redeemed myself. Now-"

"Yes, yes," I snapped, rolling my eyes. "You run your own host club."

"They do?" Tamak gasped, startled.

" _Oui_ ," I replied in French, tipping my head to the girls. "They call themselves-"

"The Zuka club!" I resisted the urge to sigh. They had obviously planned this and even though the other two girls were still eying Benio warily, they carried on with their little planned performance. Their maroon outfits were the first to go, giving way to a formal array of dresses and a fitted suit for Benio.

For the first two years of our childhood friendship, I had actually thought that she was a boy. She had used a more masculine phrasing and dressed like a boy so I had just assumed so but when I called her a boy when introducing her, she had flipped out. In all honesty, I didn't really care what gender she was. Either way, I would have had problems with her.

My eyes narrowed on the trio as they performed another costume change and a series of twirls.

"You got accepted to Lobelia?" I glanced to the side. Haruhi's face was turned toward the performance even though she was obviously talking to me.

I debated what it would cost me to tell her the truth. Was there any profit in lying? "Yes," I finally said, shrugging. "A little before I got here, Lobelia contacted me with an offer."

Honey eyes glanced up at me, her brows lowering. "An offer?"

"Yes." I winced as a particularly large flash went off behind the three girls. They had even brought their own stage lights. At Haruhi's continued attention, I went on slowly. "A payment plan to attend on the basis of performing."

"Like in an orchestra?"

"And also with the Zuka club," I muttered, shrugging. "They had received a couple of tapings from Benio of some of my violin and cello performances and decided that my addition would be a good investment on their part."

"And you didn't take it?" Haruhi said, wonder coloring her voice.

My shoulders tensed, something like shame burning my throat. "It wasn't my place to take it."

I turned away then, uncomfortable with the way that she was staring at me. Her eyes were too wide and honest. They made you feel like she was seeing all of you - something that I was very unused to.

And this was one of the things that I didn't want anyone to know. One of the memories that were too harsh to even think of.

"You're very talented, Miss Ko," Haruhi called to my back, causing a zing of discomfort and guilt to roll through me.

" _Ah, so talented," Mother cheered, fluttering the thick packet of acceptance letters around._

" _To be expected." Across the room, Papa sat with a glass of bourbon on ice, his eyes crinkled with cheery lines that belied the overwhelming anger he had been feeling for the past few days. Business hadn't been going as well as he would have liked. Already he was leaning on me a bit more, forcing some of the documents over to my desk and the legal rights to be transferred._

_Quietly, Renge picked away at her skirt, her brows knitting into a solemn line. She had gotten letters as well. Good letters from prominent schools._

" _Mama," I interrupted, glancing uncertainly at my younger sister. "Renge has some offers as well for digital design and manag-"_

" _Lobelia!" My mother gasped, holding up the offending maroon envelope. My stomach tightened. I had buried that one in the middle, hoping that she would pass it up._

_Across the room, there was a near-silent shift as Renge stiffened in her seat, her face growing pale._

" _Darling, you didn't tell us that you were accepted into Lobelia!"_

_I winced, hating myself. "I don't want to go."_

_My mother's eyes grew wide, her lips thinning as she fluttered the offending letter about in her well-manicured hand. Their offer was astronomical. They were giving me a sum of money just to bring the Houshakuji name to their school. Benio had certainly had a part in that, if not led the leading charge in getting my name to the board at Lobelia._

" _Ridicule," our mother scoffed in French. "What else do you propose to do with your time? Hole yourself away like your sister?"_

_Renge flinched, the bow in her hair flinching as well._

" _Mama," I hissed, blushing with shame. "If anyone were to get that offer it would be Renge. She's the one who plays-"_

" _But you're the one who got it," our mother snapped, rolling her eyes. "You will do as you please like you always do however you will contact all of these places directly and apologize before your disgrace the family name."_

_I blinked back instinctive tears, lowering my head. When had our family name come second in my life? Doing what I wanted hadn't been first in my life since I had turned nine. And here I was - my very existence a slap in the face to everything that Renge ever loved._

_In the flickering firelight, Renge's package remained tightly wound up, tied neatly with a little pink bow._

* * *

_Hey, my little cinnamon buns! So I know things are a little crazy right now with this virus but I just wanted to emphasize the point of coming back to the things that we love and just not letting the fear and uncertainty ruin everyday life. We still have so much to be thankful for and I for one, count you guys among those numbers._

_So yeah, I hope that this chapter brightens your day._


	10. A Desperate Bid for First Place!

"I can't believe you would do this to me!" The shoe that went whizzing past my ear made me think twice about taking those martial arts classes that Honey had sweetly offered me.

I barely dodged the other shoe as Renge started to tear at the bow in her hair, obviously intending to throw that next. Living through sixteen years in this frankly abusive relationship with my sister had made me fit in the way that tussling with a younger sibling can. It was a wiry strength, completely useless once I went toe to toe with someone who had actually punched another person before but I didn't particularly see myself having to deal with that in the immediate future.

"So what does this mean?" Renge wailed petulantly, her face red and swollen from hours of crying, her fingers still clawing at the wily mess of her bow. "You two are _what_? Lovers?"

I spluttered, flushing at the thought of Kyoya...doing those things. My toes curled, my throat closing up. "N-no! Renge, no! I swear it's just a stupid, meaningless bet."

I didn't know why I hadn't considered that she already knew about the rumor that Kyoya and I were in a relationship. The host club was the primary source of conversation and Kyoya Ootori was popular enough that the threat of no longer having his open attention had led the school into a tail-spin. Of course, Renge had found out quickly. How could she not have?

"Kyoya doesn't do things that are meaningless!" Renge shrieked, finally tearing the bow from her hair along with a healthy chunk of her own curls and hurling it into the space between us. I blinked. She had a bit too much of a point for my own comfort. Or mental well-being.

Because this was one of the nagging questions swimming around in the back of my mind like a fish that hadn't learned that it was out of the ocean and in a tank. What were his motives? Certainly, the financial gain must be a rather delicious upside but to waste this much time? It was rather a lot of effort just for some monetary gain. It bumped up against the walls of my brain at the most inopportune moments, distracting me, making me uneasy.

And it also was part of the reason that Renge was able to successfully fling one of her socks into my face as a distraction before latching one of her spindly little hands onto a decent chunk of my hair.

"OW!" I yelped, kicking at her shins as I tried to slap at her face. We performed a few half-steps, shuffling around our garden in an awkward kind of waltz. Off to the left, I caught the nervous stares of the maids who had followed us here, their hands folded demurely in front of them even as they worriedly watched us from the house steps. "YOU ABSOLUTE RODENT! GET OFF OF ME!"

"Tell me how it felt when you fell into the bed of your sister's true love and I'll let go!" she snarled back, her face disconcertingly close to mine as we grappled.

I growled, grabbing onto her hair and twisting it until she let out a squeal. If she wanted to play like this than I was going to make sure she left this garden without any hair. I yanked again, yelping as she did the same, her other hand curling into my collar and dragging me to the side. Which in turn pulled out some more of my hair.

"It's a bet, Renge! I swear!" I hooked my foot behind her ankle, making her trip a little bit and careen into one of our _satsuki_ bushes. "It means nothing."

Her eyes watered as I got a good elbow into the side of her neck but they stayed on me, unwavering even as tears pooled in her lashes. "No. You don't do things for _nothing_. There's _something_ , Ko."

My fingers slipped from her hair, my ankle twisting a bit on a stray rock. There was some sort of pain in her eyes, something that split through her words and made my breath feel raw as it burst from me. _It was for you_. I wanted to say it, it was on the tip of my tongue. Vulnerability beat down into my very bones. _I wanted some way to keep close to you - something that would bring us closer_.

Renge bared her teeth, hands letting go of me even as she stayed firmly in place, nearly as tall as me. "Just tell me what's going on."

_I came here to get you back for father. But maybe I came here to try and get you back for me too. Because you're my sister. Because I miss you. Because I don't even know who you are anymore ever since you started locking yourself in your room. And Kyoya… I like him._

I flinched, pale and shivering as I stared down at my sister. I couldn't tell her that. Worse - I could never say those words aloud. Because Kyoya… Kyoya wasn't a person that a girl just liked. Boys like Kyoya gobbled girls up and spit them out without stopping on his morning trip to get coffee.

"Please." I winced at the broken word, watching my sister reach out, her head bowing slightly as she clutched at my biceps, her nails making little pricks into my skin. Like when we were kids and she had come home crying because the kids thought she was weird. Like she had when our parents ignored her tangents about anime and video games at the dinner table. "Just tell me what's going on and I swear, I won't be mad. I swear."

I shut my eyes against the image of my sister's bent back, her forehead nearly brushing my chest. I could never tell her about Kyoya. If I told her then she would never forgive me and it would all become too real. He would take too much of me if I let him. And what was the use of me speaking when it would be a lie?

"You always were so cruel," Renge breathed, her nails drawing blood as they tightened. And then she was letting me go, her head still bent. "I hate you."

I wasn't expecting her to shove me. But as her head whipped up, her face tear-stained and red, I knew that she could have done far worse. And perhaps I deserved it. I had always been like this - using silence when an answer wasn't perfect enough. Because I didn't want to give her something that wasn't worth her time. Because I wanted her to be happy and more often than not, my answers weren't.

My heel caught on the high rocks that bordered our pond, tripping me up as I went pitching backward.

"Miss Ko!" One of the maids exclaimed, lurching forward as I slammed into the chilling surface of our koi pond, sending them flitting away. Water seeped into the yellow of my school uniform, making my skirts heavy and my butt feel like I had just fallen into an ice bucket.

I shivered, thoroughly humiliated.

* * *

"If you don't get that application out of my face this instant, I'm going to shove it so far up your-"

"Darling!" Benio cut in, her little lackies smiling along behind her as they followed behind us, Benio's long legs keeping her annoyingly close to me even as I took corners at sharp angles. "You know that you would be so much better in a place such as Lobelia."

"We offer tap classes," the bob-haired one piped up.

"And flower arrangement courses," the willowy one that I had come to learn was named Chizuru. She frowned as she said it, picking at her nails. By far she was the least enthused about my potential enlistment into the Lobelia club. Well, the least enthused aside from me.

"All of which sounds lovely," I snapped, yanking the offending documents from Benio's hands as she shoved them at me hopefully. Disgusted, I tossed them into the trash as I sped past.

"Ko!" Benio hissed, jogging to keep up with me as her two little flunkies dove into the bin to try and pull the papers out. "I don't know why you insist on staying here with these horrid outfits - a wonderful choice today though, darling. White looks splendid on you - and these horrid boys-"

I grimaced, trekking up the long flight of stairs as I made my way quickly to the host club. Today I had tossed out my horrible, little yellow dress in favor of an A-line dress that flared out at my hips and had a lovely collar with a sheer shift on top that showed hints of skin beneath. After receiving a detailed list of future host club themes, I had decided that today was the perfect day to wear something white since the theme was "modern groom."

The whole host club would be decked out like a wedding chapel and my profit margin would go up by the hundreds just by making an appearance.

"Benio," I breathed, halting before the double doors of the music rooms and turning so swiftly that the taller girl nearly rammed into me. My eyes flitted to just behind her shoulders, catching sight of the two other Lobelia girls as they jogged after us. "I don't plan on staying in Japan very much longer. In fact, as soon as my sister decides to stop with her absurd little scheme, I'll be on the next plane to France. So at the moment, I am _fine_ in Ouran. In fact, I'm doing splendid-"

"But-" Benio started, her face creasing with obvious desperation.

I shook my head, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. "I'm staying here, Benio."

"WELCOME, PRINCESS!" The chorus of male voices was enough to make Benio pale, Chizuru and the short-haired girl beside her, cringing away. They had long since lost the battle with Haruhi and now I supposed that they were in a last-ditch effort to try and recruit me. Briefly, my mind drifted to my sister. She had locked herself inside of her room, the silent treatment continuing on a newer, more aggressive level. But perhaps if I won this battle with Kyoya, perhaps if I continued to show up at the host club then maybe I would be able to talk to her.

 _At this point,_ I thought grimly, _it was my only option._

"Ko!" A familiar voice bubbled and I was surprised to feel myself smiling as I stepped through the open doors and onto a red carpet. Rice and red rose petals rained down on me as Tamaki twirled over to me, his eyes glittering with joy. " _Comment avez-vous ete?_ " Before I could answer, he continued on hurriedly in French, his golden hair sparkling rather dashingly against the all-white suit that he had one. "We make quite a pair in our matching ensemble, don't we?"

I resisted the urge to grimace. Much to my horror, Tamaki and I had grown rather - close was a bit too large of a word - _friendly_. It was... _nice_ to be able to talk to someone in my native tongue and he seemed to have found the same comfort, his body nearly shaking with excitement whenever I stepped into a room with him.

I supposed that there was a bit of homesickness in both of us - a weakness that we both hid rather well.

"Careful, Mister Suoh or those bloggers will be gossiping about you too," I sighed, catching sight of the little cluster of them off in the corner taking loud, gossipy pictures as I walked in. In all honesty, I didn't get very much attention throughout the school day. However, once the host club hours started it was like open season and the game happened to be any and all things related to Kyoya and I.

"Oh they already do," he said nonchalantly. For some reason, there was an air of perverse pride that seemed to glimmer from him as he ran a practiced hand through his hair. "They think that I was your first lover since we were both born in France. And also since I am unbearably handsome and therefore must be part of this love triangle."

My lips curled sourly. "What utter tripe."

His purple eyes glittered down at me, taken aback. "I'll have you know that people have called me fabulous on multiple occasions." His head whipped to the side. "HARUHI! TELL KO HOW FABULOUS DADDY IS!"

"You're not my father!" a high voice yelled in return and Tamaki let out a wail, scampering across the entryway hurriedly in pursuit of the wayward host.

The sudden loss of Tamaki's presence was similar to a boat suddenly finding itself on land or the earth warping to a dimension without the presence of the sun. The murmurs of all the other girls around me suddenly became heavy, pushing at me in a way that I found unfamiliar. Across the room, I could feel the individual pricks of those girls' eyes watching me, analyzing me. Occasionally, I even heard the scribble of their pens as they jotted down some note or another.

Making friends had always been hard for me. I didn't like the effort that it took to keep them entertained or the time that they needed to have dedicated to them. Sure, I could easily talk to people but when it came to the arena of discussing what Sakura had worn to school that day and oh god, did you Atsuki and that god awful hairband - I was an absolute nightmare.

Perhaps that came from a deep distrust of other human beings. Because even those small, flimsy conversations held some kind of benefit whether it was the destruction of a girl you thought was pretty or smarter or simply a way to raise your social standing in the small group of friends that you had...

Uncomfortable awareness crawled over my skin. Why was I here? This wasn't the world that I belonged in. I wasn't some tittering girl and I certainly wasn't one of the dazzling hosts whose very presence brought with it some kind of comfort. This whole idea had been stupid. Where the hell was Kyoya anyway? Oh, that was _pathetic_. I didn't need him to make me feel comfortable. What a load of-

"Oh where is my darling Kyoya?" A shrill voice exclaimed in my ear.

"He must be here somewhere. I just know it," an identical voice shrieked into my other ear. Wormy little arms clutched at my waist, sandwiching me between the two Hitacchin brothers.

And just like that all of my earlier anxieties about being alone evaporated, leaving behind the foul despair of social courtesies. "Kaoru, Hikaru - what an absolute delight to see you this afternoon." I gave a bland smile, hoping that the wooden greeting wasn't too apparent. "I trust that your family's bathing suit line is coming along well?"

"Mother doesn't let us in on the business side of things," Kaoru said offhandedly and I almost gagged with jealousy. What a pair of spoiled little brats. I could just strangle them. His cat-like eyes glittered down at me, a crooked smile giving me a flash of elongated canines. "Our talents lie-"

"Or Kaoru, you can't tell her that," Hikaru simpered, feigning bashfulness as he fluttered his lashes at his twin.

"She'll keep our secret," Kaoru assured him, smoothly falling into the role as he ran a finger down his brother's cheek, making him giggle and a couple of nearby girls faint. His eyes flicked to me, his voice lowering conspiratorially. "Our talents lie closer to the female persuasion."

I blinked up at him. "Which would be perfect in regards to the bikini line that your mother's creating." At his slightly slack expression, I continued on slowly. "Females have the occasion to wear those, you know."

For a moment, (one that I was sure that God himself may have never seen before) the twins were completely silent, their minds spinning quickly as they met each other's gazes. My insides warmed a bit at the sudden silence, the hands at my waist squeezing down as the pair struggled to come up with a proper response. If my whole career boiled down to this single success, I would cherish it forever.

"Ah, big sister," Kaoru complained loudly, throwing up his hands moodily as he completely let go of me in favor of pacing a bit. I bit down on my tongue, all of my irritation coming back like a train blowing past an intersection. "Why do you have to go and ruin everything?!"

"It's supposed to be a little drama," Hikaru whined, throwing his head back even though his arm lay firmly around my waist. He lowered his voice as he leaned down to me. "You were supposed to swoon right there when he made that little comment about us being good with ladies."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, you made it so easy for me. And isn't your thing supposed to be about you two being all into each other?"

"With girls," Kaoru hissed as he rounded on me. "Us _with girls_. It's a whole _thing_ , Ko. Like waking up in between two dudes-"

"Being romanced by two guys," Hikaru threw in suavely, waggling his eyebrows.

"It's a fantasy," Kaoru continued, jabbing a finger at me accusingly. "Stop ruining the fantasy."

My brows furrowed. If they didn't want me to ruin their little _fantasy_ than they shouldn't come over here and tease me. It's like they couldn't help themselves. I opened my mouth to retort, gearing up for a hushed battle with the pair.

"Kaoru, Hikaru," a deep voice started and I felt the twin's hand being torn from my side. Kyoya had finally appeared, a thin smile curling his lips, his glasses flashing in the afternoon light filtering through the windows. "It's a delight to know that you both have such free time on your hands. I'll be sure to remember that in tomorrow's schedule."

"Ow, ow, ow," Hikaru whimpered, his eyes watering as Kyoya's finger dug into the soft skin between his thumb and palm. "Okay, I can see that your slightly upset - OUCH!"

The yank sent him stumbling to the side, allowing a good few feet between me and him. Kaoru grimaced as Kyoya finally released his brother's hand, that same smile still in place.

"Kaoru," Hikaru wailed, catching sight of the gaggle of girls that had wandered over to see if he was alright. Sobbing, he fell into his brother's arms to the utter delight of the girls around them.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to save you," Kaoru whispered, his hands curled around his brother's jaw passionately. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He had clearly been only a few feet away. "Let me make it up to you tonight…"

A few girls fell to the ground, passing out from pure joy.

Kyoya's eyes finally opened, that smile softening as he took in my dress. "I take it that this little appearance is in a bid for sales." His brows tipped up, a hand reaching out to tug at the collar of my dress as my heart gave a responding tug. I flushed.

"The lucrative move was to come to the host club since the majority of your fans are here every evening," I stated quickly, glancing over to the cluster of girls just a few feet away, their phones out and poised at perfect angles to catch every moment of our interaction. "Not to mention the overwhelming press coverage…"

Those silvery eyes twinkled down at me, his lip quirking a bit as he stared down at me. He made such a striking image in his suit, his undershirt a deep grey that paired well with the charcoal of his suit and tie. He had even changed his hairstyle slightly, shoveling it to one side in a chaotic mess that made him look cooly uninterested and devastatingly handsome.

His voice dropped to a low murmur as he leaned closer to me. "Then I assume that you planned for more than a lovely outfit combination." Those eyes rolled slowly over me again, his fingers toying with my collar still, drifting to my collarbone and playing along the sensitive column of my throat. "Although you are stunning."

Heat burned across my cheeks, words jumbling up in my head as I spluttered up at him. What did he just say to me? Did he mean that in a competitive way or..? Was he trying to confuse me?

"I-I-" I shut my mouth, my breath going raw as those stupid fingers of his continued to flirt with my collar, grazing along my neck. I glared up at him, still steaming from embarrassment and confusion. He knew what he was doing. And if that lazy smirk had anything to say about it then he was enjoying it. "Why do you always insist on being such a - such a-"

I couldn't find the right word. Tease? Flirt? All of them sounded too nice for whatever psychological warfare Kyoya was engaging me in.

Desperately, I tried to collect myself, drawing in a calming breath (even though every breath I took continued to remind me about where his fingers were dancing along) and gathered what little bearings I had. I had come here to do a mission, dammit. And I would complete it and quickly exit. Very quickly before he decided to throw anymore traps for me to drop into.

"I'm about to put you so far behind me that you won't even be able to see where my lead began and yours ended," I hissed out, my fingers clenching as he raised an eyebrow. Behind him, I saw a girl wander out of a curtained off area.

Of course, Kyoya needed to continue with some appointments. Getting rid of them completely would all but ruin any standing he had as a host. And of course, I had been able to get a list of such appointments. (I had bribed Honey with some sweets that my father had sent over from France.) It was, however, a bit disconcerting to feel the gut-wrenching twist of a knife in my stomach as I watched the client's eyes dreamily drift over to where Kyoya stood with me. The confusion and then the pain flashing across her face was enough to send a blast od ice water through my veins.

If he was able to tear her apart so easily then he would mince me up and serve me to the rest of his family within seconds.

"How could I ever fall for someone so cruel?!" I wailed, half sobbing as I glared up at Kyoya, my teeth gritted. Was that actual agony that shook my voice? I blinked back instinctive tears. Kyoya's brows furrowed for a moment, his lips tipping down before his expression smoothed. But there was a quiet sort of rage there in the depths of his eyes. "All I do is sit and sit and think of you and then I come in here and who were you with?! Does it make you feel good knowing how I pine for you while you continue to do whatever you like? Knowing that I can't even touch another man without thinking of you?"

A chorus of gasps punctuated my speech, the girls on the couches turning fully to glimpse the ensuing action. Mori and Honey had wandered over from their small group, Honey's eyes holding a bit of… was that worry? Why was he-?

I gasped as Kyoya's hands cuffed my wrists, dragging me flat against his chest. His eyes had gone stormy, his height towering over me, surrounding me as he curved down to meet my gaze. Something ragged and raw beat against my heart, a sort of panic setting in as his familiar scent engulfed me. His hair slipped down over his eyes.

"You can't possibly imagine that I think about anything other than you," he whispered rawly, just low enough for the gathered girls to barely hear it. My head swam, each breath becoming harder and harder to drag in. His eyes ran over my face in a way that made me think that he was drinking in every curve, drawing out the lines of my nose, the arch of my brows. Dumbly, I struggled against his grip. He was making this too real. He had trapped me into a game that I wasn't prepared for. "All I can think about is the next moment that I'll be able to see you. The next time you'll smile for me. I drive myself crazy a million times in one day thinking about you. You're a terrible distraction, Ko Houshakuji."

"Let go of me," I snarled but even that was feeble to me. Hopelessly, I tried to rail some of that anger and hurt that had fueled my earlier speech. "You're the one who has me dangling on a string. You bat me around when you feel like it and then leave me hanging there until the mood strikes. You'll tear me apart, Kyoya. You already have."

Pain flashed through his eyes, a grim, cold sort of pain that I felt echo through my bones. Those had been my own words. This wasn't fun anymore. This was becoming too real. I bit down on any further words, yanking against him.

And gaining some ground.

I stumbled back as his grip faltered, my legs wobbling as his hold on me gave way. His eyes flashed across my vision moments before his arms were wrapping around me, yanking me to his chest, one hand tangling into the mass of my curls. He had looked desperate, so very desperate. Was this an act? Had that raw, haunting look been an act?

His arms were leanly muscles, his grip strong as he pressed me to his front, Warm breath blew into my ear as he leaned farther into me. Ink and the sugary scent of mochi or rice cakes engulfed me, lulling me into the moment. In my chest, my heart fluttered like a bird finally realizing that it was inside of a cage. He had known what I was going to do. _How had he known?_ And he had played me like a fiddle.

"Now push me away," he breathed into my ear, his fingers tightening in my hair for a moment before I was doing what he said. Had it always been so cold in the music room?

Blindly, I turned stumbling towards the door and rushing through it before I could think. Before I caught a glimpse of the staring, murmuring faces of the people in that room. Or worse - of Kyoya's face.

I didn't stop running, taking the stairs at a clumsy speed. That had all been too close to the surface. My heart ached, something foreign clogging my throat. Because the worst thoughts were bubbling up. The thoughts that Kyoya was going to win in more ways than one. And the even more frightening thought that I wasn't even playing a game anymore. That somewhere along the line, I had fallen into something real.

* * *

_Ah, the days are starting to go by slower and slower! The first week was cool but I'm the type of person that needs to get out and run and do work and kind of scrunch my time to feel comfortable. IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY, GUYS!_

_How are you guys doing? What are you doing to pass the time? I feel a bit like that show on netflix where you're put in a room and they drop you off a box of crayons and some coloring books to get you by. It's like... The Circle? Is that right? Anyway, leave me a review! I love hearing from you guys._


	11. A Woman of Wall Street

_Cut your losses short and let your winners run_. Those words ran through my mind like a bad mixtape as I watched the clean streets of Japan pass by. In France, there had always been an eclectic sort of thrill around the shops and cafes like a woman who had kept her family home for years and had all the bobble to show it. But in Japan, there seemed to be a quiet organization to the roads and people. Even with the multi-laned highways and the shops on top of shops, each stacking together like an ever-increasing game of Jenga.

Organization. That was what my life was missing. Even as the thought popped in my head, I felt the tsunami of a headache churning in the back of my brain.

 _Cut your losses short and let your winners run_ , I reminded myself, shutting my eyes as I tried to focus myself in. In the dim light of my limo as the small streets of Japan passed me by, I focused in on the American saying. Stocks were a natural progression for any businessman. With a powerhouse like the Houshakuji name at my back, it was hard to not have a working knowledge of Wall Street.

For a moment, I felt the familiar pull of familial ties and affections. It was wrong to completely dehumanize and break down a relationship into investments and losses.

But then that little bubble popped and I pushed through to the other side with a sigh. It was easier being apart. Less stressful.

 _Cut your losses short and let your winners run_.

My sister. When had our relationship been anything but a loss? I couldn't entirely remember. Like two ships trying to hail each other in a storm, we kept missing each other, misinterpreting things that should have been easy. And then with this recent fumble with Kyoya…

Maybe somewhere along the lines, our relationship had become too messy, too strenuous on both of us to wade through.

Was there any way for us to get over the hurdle that had been created by our parents?

Maybe not. More than likely not.

The Wall Street answer would be to pull out. The stocks on our relationship were dropping lower and lower by the day.

The human answer would be to continue on, muddle through the garbage and hatred… But that could also damage our relationship even more if I continued to push.

I put that aside, sensing the growing confusion starting to well up in the back of my mind, threatening the tentative calm I had created.

The next issue was… Kyoya Ootori.

A disturbing wave of emotions started to beat at the walls of my mind, a disquiet starting before I was able to stop it. When had my feelings turned from more than just a business agreement? Friendly competition? How could it have happened so fast? Like a bone being set back into place or a room suddenly coming in to focus. In that moment, being in his arms, playing that part it had all seemed so clear, blindingly apparent.

I liked him. For more than his financial gains. For his sharp intellect and slick facade that was so like my own. For the similarities in our views. For his gentle words and his odd attentions. Dangerous - all very dangerous.

I gulped trying to pull away to gain some upper ground on the situation and only finding myself continuously slipping into the same train of thought. The bet had brought me too close to him. Maybe in some subconscious way, I had seen the appeal and done it to myself.

Now there was no way of getting around it. I liked Kyoya Ootori. A simple, clean statement that meant a world of trouble.

"Ma'am, we've arrived." I blinked, my mind dragged from the depth of my own thoughts as the limo door slipped open and the bright summer day streamed in.

"Oh," I murmured, blinking away the glare for a moment before I forced a smile at the chauffeur. "Thank you."

He tipped his head slightly at the words, helping me out with a hand.

There was no answer to liking someone and no direct answer for my sister either. In business, you never chose the path that required the most amount of emotions. I sighed, rubbing a hand through the wild mess of my hair.

I knew what I had to do.

* * *

My sister's high-pitched squeal sounded off like a dolphin call moments before she burst through to the study, her smile so large that for a moment, I felt bad about tricking her.

Slowly, dumbly she took in the vacant room, her brows furrowing in confusion before she was turning back to the now closing doors with a frown. "Jenny, I thought you said the newest game release would be-"

Her eyes immediately caught on where I stood by the door, her mouth widening, cheeks reddening. "You-"

I broke her off, stepping forward before she could get enough speed behind her rage. "I know you hate me for how our parent's treated you."

A sharp sound like a knife being forced through bone cut through the room, my sister flinching as if I had physically slapped her. I continued on, feeling a growing sickness start to creep along my stomach. "I know that you think that they paid more attention to me than they did to you. Wanted something better for me since you were the second born. And maybe that's true."

My stomach gave another lurch as I stared at her paling face. She had gone a sickly gray, her knuckles white where they were clenched at her side.

For a moment, I thought of all those long talks with our father and mother about the business. Worn, tired after I had always crept out of their study like a wet rag, dragging myself along with the notes and binders of all our overseas stores and financial logs. And more night than not, I would find Renge curled beside the door, her little body curled by the hinges like a kicked dog.

I gulped, wincing. "No. It's definitely true... But what's also true is that they gave you all the freedom in the world. You didn't have to run the business or talk to the clients or sell yourself out to every wealthy investor."

Renge's face had twisted up, her mouth opening as if there were words at the tip of her tongue.

But I soldiered on, feeling some sort of release in the words that were pouring out of me.

"Listen, I came here because I didn't want you to be alone," I breathed. "Also because papa told me to come but mainly because you're my sister and I love you. And instead of going back to France, I've stayed because you seem happy and this is the first time we've talked - really talked - in years."

For a moment, I felt that familiar swell of loneliness crest inside of me, rising like the first tide. But there was something deeper along with it. I felt it like a mourning call as I stared at my sister's frail, tense shoulders. I felt like I was saying goodbye, I realized.

Finally, some form of dying rage flared up inside of her, like a survival instinct clicking on. Her teeth ground together, her cheeks flushing. "You can't just come in here-"

"I'm sorry." I cut her off, not wanting the chance of my own temper getting the better of me. And more than that, I meant it. The words were fresh and clean, something pure coming out of a relationship that was so dirty. Renge's wide eyes widened, the caramel browns there glittering with something painful. "I only ever wanted to be your big sister. And if I ever thought that we could repair this than I would. But I'm tired of chasing you. I'm tired of fighting you."

I took a breath, feeling somehow lighter as I straightened, smoothing a hand over the rumpled mess of my school dress which I hadn't taken off. Raising my chin, I met Renge's eyes. "That's why I think it will be better if I move out for a little bit and we each take a step back. Most of the maids and housekeepers will stay with you…"

Awkwardly, I shuffled toward the door, unsure at her silent stare. For some reason...I had pictured more of a fight, me gasping to try and insert my point into the conversations. Not this silent statue that was standing, dazed before me.

"Goodbye, Renge," I said weakly, unsure if I was just saying it to try and force any sort of reaction from her or if I really meant it.

Stiffly, I exited the room, pushing through the doors and into the lobby. The glint of Mrs. Mercier's glasses was the only warning I had before she was striding past me, her clipboard held primly in her hands. Sharply her eyes took in the frumpled mess of my dress and the tired circles under my eyes, her lips thinning.

"I know I look awful," I snapped, my words coming out a great deal weaker than I had intended them to.

It wasn't hard to find a decent apartment near Ouran. Since the school catered to the rich, having housing all around was an essential draw for the foreign visitor. In the few hours that I had been torturing myself over my conversation with Renge, Mrs. Mercier had been quietly organizing my move from the main house.

The quiet click of her tongue was sharp enough to cut. Blinding summer sun assaulted my eyes as we slipped from the front door, the cicadas humming lowly in the trees. It seemed that summers in Japan, especially closer to Tokyo were oppressively hot, humid and just all-around miserable. A slick sheen of sweat drenched my skin almost immediately, making me resemble something closer to a rat than a human, I was sure.

Mrs. Merceir scribbled a few more things down on her pad, what I couldn't even imagine but I was inclined to think it was something awful and boring.

"Renge always did like the drama more than the fight," she said suddenly, her eyes never leaving whatever she was writing down. "Once all the fuss was done, she just always deflated." Her eyes slid to me, pointedly. "You both were such strange girls growing up."

I didn't say anything, keeping stride with her as we slowly walked through the front garden and to the road where our car was parked. I knew the direction that she was prodding me into. And frankly, I wasn't sure how to take it.

"Any new messages?" I asked, pointedly turning the conversation in a different direction. I didn't want to think about Renge anymore. Frankly, I was starting to realize that nearly all of my waking hours had been geared in her direction.

Mrs. Mercier wasn't a chump. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, her lips tipping upward in an annoyingly barbed smile.

"Yes," she murmured. "A couple of contracts that need to be reviewed. Some designs that need to be approved…" Her eyes flashed as she let out a sharp click. "A letter from your mother."

I stilled, stopping as we reached the curb. My mother hadn't spoken to me in a year. I felt my expression sour as Mrs. Mercier pulled out the slick, glittering pink envelope, handing it to me. For a moment, I stared at the smooth outside, debating leaving it in the dirt. My fingers tightened around it. Of course, I wouldn't do that.

"Did Renge get one as well?" Stupid. She had been receiving letters and gifts from our mother and father on a near-constant rotation. Familiar bitterness rolled through me before I could stop it. My sister was and forever would be the baby.

"Oui," she replied, letting me take it in for a moment. Slowly, I nodded. Apparently my bad luck was continuing with an impressive vengeance. "And you have two messages from classmates." Alarm shot through me, my head whipping up with a force that made me momentarily dizzy.

Kyoya, my mind instantly bleeps like a lamb running away from a wolf. Dread and excitement curled my stomach. Distantly, I heard the sound of traffic, the rush of tires and the call of bicyclists as they went to and fro. Something sweet drifted along the next breeze - maybe roasted seaweed or a red bean onigiri.

The taller woman's lips curled, her eyes betraying the knowing glee that you felt as she watched me try and contain myself. "One from that Ootori boy and another from that Suoh one."

"What did they say?" I blurted out before I could help myself. And then mentally berating myself as Mercier gave a smirk.

"Mister Suoh was rambling quite a bit - and _merde_ , when he found out I could speak French it was awful. However, he mentioned something about a girl named Haruhi and how her family was starving or some such. The word 'poor' was mentioned quite a bit," she said airily and I rolled my eyes.

Tamaki seemed to carry constant delusions of grandeur. I was sure it wasn't the first nor the last time that he would want to rush Haruhi out of her "impoverished" life.

A devilish smirk curled her lips suddenly. "As for the other one, I'm afraid that I didn't quite take down his message so you'll need to ask himself yourself when next you meet."

My mood soured further, my eyes narrowing. "You're meddling," I accused. _You old bat,_ I added silently.

"Really?" she replied airily, stepping down from the curb to our car door. One slim brow quirked. "I hadn't realized that there was anything to meddle in."


	12. A Day in the Life of the Fujioka Family

" _Mon rayon de soleil_!" My eyes drifted momentarily to the coffee and steaming breakfast sitting untouched in front of me, all of my appetite rolling away from me swiftly.

Disgusted, I shoved the plate away from me, switching my phone off of loudspeaker as Mrs. Mercier's brows rose, her eyes cemented on the breakfast in front of her and her pile of papers. I didn't particularly know what the older woman did for fun and it seemed odd to see her actually sitting down to a meal. Like seeing a teacher in street clothes. Most of the time, I completely ignored that she had a life outside of my own, choosing instead to view her more as a mythical creature that only existed when I set eyes on her. Or a demon that had decided to drag me to hell emotionally and then finally give me a merciful ending.

"Tamaki, how did you get this number?" I hissed into the receiver, still peeved that he had so effectively ruined my breakfast.

The sun glinting off of the ivory walls. Briefly, my eyes ran over the minimalistic apartment. All Japanese homes seemed to be the same with a wide-open concept that let in light from every angle, minimal furniture with only the essentials. A floor to ceiling window overlooked the jumbled buildings just outside. I had picked a building close enough to the original house that would allow for the houseworkers to still be able to keep the residences and not have to move to be closer to me.

At night I could feel the emptiness of the house like a lost limb, the yawning silence enough to drive me half-mad. I had always thought that being alone would be easy for me but apparently my background only made the absence more apparent. Too coddled. Too used to having people pacing about, getting ready for the dinner meal or the afternoon turn-over.

In comparison to our Japanese estate, this was less westernized and more the standard with an entryway with a shoe rack and umbrella holder, a study, two bedrooms with beds low to the ground and a living room with only a wide table and tatami cushions set around it. As if as an afterthought, a U-shaped couch was positioned around it, facing a wide TV hung on the wall. Sitting on the table was my mother's prim letter, still stubbornly unopened.

There was nothing unnecessary in the house. Nothing eccentric nor frills. And everything seemed to consist of the same, clean colors, making the rooms seeming wider and brighter than they actually were. In most of the other apartments that we had seen there had only been a kitchen that adjoined with the bedroom and a bathroom.

Renge had, following typical fashion remained silent offering me nothing more than a sullen stare as I had gone back to get some clothes that had been left. It was a guarded sort of silence however, one that reminded me of an animal who was unsure if a predator had left the area or was laying in wait.

"I feel that that hardly matters at the moment," Tamaki was saying, his voice rising dramatically and briefly I had the image of him sitting primly in a ridiculously pretentious robe, his body poised regally as he made this call from his bed. "What matters, Ko is that Haruhi is living in a hovel - starving - while we go about our business eating fancy tuna and drinking french-pressed coffee. She can't even afford the grounds, Ko! She mixed it with water like some kind of - like some kind of-"

"Caveman?" I supplied half-heartedly, remembering the instant coffee debacle.

" _Exactement_!" Tamaki exclaimed and I mentally berated myself for continuing this conversation. It only encouraged him when you supplied him with words. "Why, just last week she showed me these - these little clippings. Tiny pieces of paper with percentages and such-"

"Coupons?" Mentally, I cursed. It was just so hard to keep answering him when he was so obviously fishing. He had to be doing it on purpose, I thought darkly, suspicion making me glower. There was no fathomable reason why he didn't know the basics of modern, middle-class economics and life.

Not only that but he was French! Just the other day one of the host girls had come up to me and asked me how different life in France was that we didn't even know about barbers. Tamaki - all of it was Tamaki. He had told her that there wasn't such a place that people gathered to do their hair - the whole idea was absurd.

"She's living in a shack, I tell you!" he yelped, his voice quivering in a familiar way that meant he was crying. "With cobwebs and chipped teacups-"

"I'm surprised that she invited you over honestly," I mused, tapping a nail on the shiny marble the countertop. Across the kitchen island, Mrs. Mercier eyed the last croissant, her tongue working at her teeth in thought before she snatched it up. "With how you go on about being her father-"

An awkward laugh burst through the receiver, making me pause. "Well, she hasn't exactly invit-"

"Then how do you know that she lives in a hovel?"

"Funny-"

"Tamaki."

For a moment, there was a crackling pause. "I had a dream."

I hung up.

* * *

Five missed calls and about twenty texts later, I had had enough.

"What do you want?" I snapped, glaring at the phone as if it had just called me a fat, pastel blue marshmallow.

Or maybe that was my subconscious again, I thought as I grimaced into the mirror. Mrs. Mercier said that an off-the-shoulder dress would attract the attention of some of the eligible bachelors around Japan. But really all I thought it did was show off the fact that my biceps were pudgy. Was that a thing? I had never really thought that biceps were a point of attraction on females but the more I stared at the way that they peeked out from under the bluebells embroidered into the fabric, the more paranoid I got.

"Stop fidgeting," the maid, Mrs. Eltress said sourly as she tried to comb out my hair. The humidity had been making it into a nightmare.

"I don't think that this dinner is necessary," I snapped up at her, glad that Mrs. Mercier was off doing something or another. She would have fried me like an ocotopus if she saw how twitchy I was being.

The older woman frowned down at me, her tidy updo bobbing as she slapped at my hand as it went to tug up the fabric around my shoulders.

"Ko, are you even listening?" I jolted, hearing the whiny edge creeping into Tamaki's voice.

"No," I said bluntly and somewhere in the background I heard a dark, male chuckle. My eyes narrowed. "Do you have me on speakerphone?"

A long pause followed in which I could clearly hear the squabbling of a few different voices. Briefly, I had nightmarish flashbacks to Ouran's music room, rose pedals slapping me in the face.

"Hardly the point, darling." He was back, his voice deceptively innocent.

Swiftly, I switched over to French. "You know I'll have no part of your preposterous plans, Tamaki. And for the lord, it's Sunday. You're utterly daft if you think I'm wasting-"

"We can speak French too!" I heard someone call petulantly from the background. Hikaru, I thought venomously.

"I'll be in your debt." My ears perked up, my fidgetting ceasing. Slowly, my lips curled. I liked debts. Debts among the rich meant an immense amount and Tamaki was one of the most financially set of the whole host club.

I leaned back in my seat, intrigued. "I'm listening."

In the background, I heard someone hiss. "Tamaki-"

Definitely Kyoya.

"A favor if you come today," he continued on, his voice raising gallantly as he warmed to the idea. "Haruhi would feel overwhelmed with six handsome, rich gentleman walking about in her home. It would be too much. She might faint at the sheer gravity of our presence."

I rolled my eyes. Or grab any nearby object to throw at their obviously unwelcome heads.

"A debt then," I purred, relishing in the idea for a moment.

"Ooohhhh," someone murmured distantly and it took me a moment to connect the sugary voice with the name: Honey. "That was ominous."

"Give me the phone," Kyoya growled and I smirked. Even though my thoughts had been veering into a more intimate area in relation to him, I was still a businesswoman. A favor with Tamaki would be very, very beneficial in the long-run especially in regards to completely annihilating him in our little bet.

"I'll see you in 20 minutes," I said swiftly, catching a distressing reflection of myself as my maid smoothed out the twist she had just put in my hair.

"How do you know-"

"Please," I scoffed. "I've known where each of you lived from the first week I was in Ouran."

"Stalker~" the twins chimed in. I ended the call.

Beside me, Mrs. Eltress eyed me disapprovingly. "You'll need to bring a gift if you're going to just barge into someone elses home."

* * *

That was how I found myself bumping along a slim road with a candle and potted parsley plant.

After we had pulled away from the main city, the roads had grown slimmer and slimmer, large brick walls separate the houses from the streets. The little space that separated apartments had grown thinner as well until eventually it gave way to large complexes.

"Ma'am, the road is blocked by a rather large group of people," my driver called from the front and I leaned around to see out the windshield to where a jumble of men, women and children were huddled around something in the middle of the street. "The young misses house should be just around this bend though so I could easily park and-"

"That's won't be necessary, thank you though." I eyes the people and then scooted toward the door. "Thank you again, Mister Yu. I'll be able to handle it from here."

"Always a pleasure, young miss," he called as I slipped out and onto the sidewalk that he had pulled beside. Almost instantly, I felt my hair grow about three times larger than it previously was, a few strands slipping to tickle along my ears and forehead. Carefully, Mister Yu backed up, navigating away from the mass.

"Are you with these nitwits?" a low, aggravated voice snapped from behind me and I turned to see a very un-manly Haruhi, her face pulled into a scowl. Her hair was ruffled, making it somehow accentuate the soft, pixie-like structure of her face. A long necklace hung around her neck, accentuating the feminine flow of a soft pink shirt over rolled jeans and sandals. She looked like an everyday girl - cute, surprisingly chic.

"I'm afraid so," I sighed, smiling as I eyed the heavy bags at her side. She had obviously just come back from a grocery run. Amused, I followed behind as she stormed a bit closer. "They brided me."

A small boy was spinning from one vehicle to the next, the crowd thinning a bit as we got a bit closer. "RICH PEOPLE! RICH PEOPLE! RICH PEOPLE!" he chanted, his eyes gleaming.

Standing a bit away but the obvious culprits of the sudden excitement was the host club, all of them staring hard at an apartment complex.

It was odd seeing them in their everyday clothes, somehow disturbing. Tamaki was dressed in a loose honey sweater, the straps of a dark tank top fashionably visible at his shoulders over a pair of light jeans. Honey stood cutely before him, a periwinkle boys uniform giving the perfect representation. At the very back of the group, Mori stood by silently, his purple shirt and dark vest and pants giving an overall athletic feel.

Just at the front, the twins were dressed in identical green pants, the general colors of red and white complimenting each other even though their tops weren't exactly the same with Kaoru wearing a vest and Hikaru wearing a hoodie.

But it was Kyoya that sent a shock of dumb awareness through me. Somehow, I had never imagined him in anything but the school uniform. Or perhaps a business suit. For a moment, my mind couldn't compute the sudden shock of seeing him so casually dressed. I froze, stopping as my eyes ran over the baggy cargo pants and dark, sleeveless shirt that showed off the impressive expanse of his leanly muscled arms. His ebony hair was ruffled, windswept in a way that made me want to go over and see if he had put some product in it to make it that way because no one could be this perfect.

His eyes immediately latched onto me as if finding the moon in a sky full of stars, an immediate response.

"GO AWAY!" I blinked, feeling like someone had just yanked me back, momentarily out of breath from the force.

Haruhi and I have shuffled our way over to the group so swiftly that for a moment I'm taken aback. Almost immediately six pairs of eyes zip to us, each one pulled wide in wonder as if none of them were expecting to ever see us again.

I blush, feeling the penetrating gaze of Kyoya's drill into my skull. There's a quiet intensity to his dark stare, his eyes a churning deep gray. For a moment, I think he might be angry. There's something rabid in his eyes, something darker and more heated than I had seen from him before.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki squeals, his eyes widening as they took in her outfit, the twins gasping softly behind them.

My eyes narrowed on Kyoya as he slouched toward me, hat book that he usually kept glued to his side, suspiciously absent. The effect was jarring, to say the least. Without anything to keep his hands occupied, they immediately found their home in his pockets. Which allowed him an annoying air of nonchalance.

Jittery, I watched as he neared, tentatively guarded. Our last meeting… had been jarring. And completely under his control. With false bravado I straightened my spine, trying to tilt my chin in a way that conveyed that I was here for my own amusement and I had hardly noticed him.

But as he got closer and closer, his eyes running over me, never moving from where I stood on the road, I suddenly became aware of a variety of things. I was sweating in the oppressive heat. And my biceps were definitely pudgy. These Japanese girls were all so pretty and dainty and small and perfect in these frilly dresses. And I was so decidedly French that it was frightening. I had never been thin and now my hair was the size of a small aircraft and oh my god, he was right in front of me.

"Mister Ootori," I fumbled, the word spat out in a way that made it sound aggressive. I winced, waiting for the answering retort.

The charcoal grey of his eyes swirled in the sunlight, one hand slipping from his pocket. What - I stopped breathing as I felt the cool tips of his fingers skim along my exposed shoulder, playing along the embroidered blue poppies and bluebells over lace.

His body created a shadow over me, making me feel an odd sort of cradled. As if we had slipped into our own world where the sun quieted in its endless pursuit to roast me. It was him, tall and lean, his eyes dark and his smile somehow secretive as he stared down at me.

"You look beautiful." My stomach dropped, did an odd spin and fluttered up to tickle along my ribcage like a preening colt. I - was he joking? Making fun of me?

But no. I could see it in the odd, heated way that his eyes lapped along the curve of my face, down the column of my throat to roam freely at my collarbone. Had he looked at me like this before? My mind flashed to the strange feeling of heat at my nape in the hallways or in the host club, turning to see his eyes from across the room, his gaze slightly dazed and a bit confused.

"I-" I fumbled, grabbing at words that didn't seem appropriate or that were too embarrassing or too soon. I ducked my head, staring down at the nude heels, our feet just an inch or so apart.

Briefly, I thought I heard him give a soft laugh, his head tipping down as if-

" _Mon rayon de soleil!_ " Lanky arms with an amount of surprising strength, yanked me back with enough force to send a wheezing breath from my lunges. Tamaki's face inched closer to me, his arm firmly grappling with my waist as he tried to haul me after Haruhi. A low growl sounded from somewhere behind us. Apparently they had had their little dispute and cajoled her into letting everyone up to her house. Conspiritorially, Tamaki lowered his voice, speaking rapidly in our native tongue, his wide sapphire eyes flicking from Haruhi to me in twitchy intervals. "She's dressed a bit too provocatively, isn't she? Who do you think she was meeting with before we got here?"

I eyed the feminine but obviously conservative clothes that Haruhi had on before turning a dull stare back to Tamaki. "To the grocery store?" His brows narrowed and I rolled my eyes, trying to tug myself away from him but he had the arms of an octopus. "If you don't release me in one second I'm going to-"

I didn't need to finish that sentence it seemed because Tamaki went slamming into the staircase ahead of us with a force that reverberated up the rest of the bar. Whimpering, he curled into himself.

"Didn't we talk about keeping our hands off of things that aren't yours?" The air went ten shades colder, a biting wind radiating off of Kyoya as he smiled cruelly down at the prone host.

"Yes," Tamaki bleated.

Maybe I should have helped him up. Perhaps that was the correct response to a man who was near tears, his body crumpled at the bottom of a staircase that I currently needed to get up.

"Excuse me," I murmured instead, stepping daintily around the tangle of limbs and trudging up the rest of the steps.

Below I could hear Tamaki and Kyoya speaking in low, agitated whispers.

"Okay," Haruhi was saying, her face pulled into an expression of extreme sternness as she eyed Honey, Mori and the twins. At the approaching sight of Tamaki, Kyoya and I, her voice raised to the no-nonsense tone of a museum tour guide on her tenth group of the day. "Here's the deal: I'm only giving you guys a quick peek. 3 seconds and then you all go home, got it?"

I checked my watch. I had to meet with some investors at around five so that would be more than perfect. Mercier had nearly breathed fire when I had told her about my trip with my classmates her forked tongue peeking out from between her lips as she gestured emphatically at the number of zeros next to each investors name.

"Nice dress," a pair of voice murmured to me, two identical smiles glaring down at me as the Hitaachin twins finally were able to spider in beside me. I tried to smooth my face into a pleasantly bland expression. Their eyes jumped to where Kyoya stood just behind me. "Wear it for anyone special?"

I drove my heel into the nearest foot with enough force to make Kaoru scream.

"Look, I brought you a gift, Haru-chan!" Honey exclaimed, displaying a blue confections box with a blush of glee. I glanced down at my own meager housewarming gifts, suddenly feeling like I should have brought something edible. "I know you love cake. There's both chocolate and strawberry."

I glanced at Kyoya, his hands stuffed into his pockets as he leaned casually against the apartment railing. He had sidled up beside me during Honey's surprise, his eyes attentive.

It was interesting… My eyes tracked Haruhi's bemused frown as she slipped her key into the nob. Usually, I would have accounted the appearance of sweets as a self-serving act but the timing was a bit weird. It was like he was fishing for more time inside the house - a reason to sit down and relax-

"I guess I could make some tea," Haruhi grumbled, pushing the door open.

"Huh." I blinked, slightly taken aback. I had always thought that Honey lacked an edge that the other's possessed. Ulterior motives grander than more sweets at dinner, maybe?

A low voice stopped my musing, Kyoya's breath on my ear as he leaned closer to me. "Whenever you get that look on your face, I always think that you're up to no good."

Blinking up at him, I gave a coy smirk. "Why, Kyoya, I don't know what you mean."

The grunt that I got in return was enough of a reply.

Haruhi's home was like a lot of Japanese apartments, clean with an organization that made everything seemed fitted to the walls like a child's dollhouse. To the immediate right of the front door was a kitchen that yawned out into a small living room. Just to the left was a long hallway that was obviously meant for the bedrooms and bathrooms.

"A wood-built 2 bedroom unit," Kyoya murmured, his eyes roaming around the space with an avid sort of glean to his eyes. "That's normal for a commoner family of 2."

"I saw quite a few just like this one," I mused as I saw the familiar tatami mats that covered the ground, soft and worn from years of use. A low table fit snuggling into the living room allowing for just enough space for all of us to squeeze to the ground. A simple tv and large bookcase took up the rest of the space.

"I thought your family had an estate." I froze, half seated already as I tried to correct my skirt around me on the floor. I hadn't meant to mention the fact that I had moved out of my house. That was giving a bit too much information.

Across the table, I could sense both Mori and Honey's attention, Kyoya's focus zeroed down onto my every moment with an unnerving amount of concentration. I grimaced, fiddling with the parsley plant on the table.

"Um, yes." How else do you elaborate on moving out of a perfectly good home? They could obviously infer the rest - that my sister had either kicked me out or fully agreed with me leaving. Either one was mortifying. I forced a smile, feeling the cutting way that it curled my face.

"Hm," Kyoya murmured, his eyes running along my face.

I had to say something. "I quite like the city."

What was that? My original house was in the city. Kyoya's expression darkened further, his mouth tightening. Across the table, Mori and Honey at least had the decency to pretend to be engaged in a rousing debate of muay thai.

For a moment, I thought that Kyoya wouldn't press any further. I was very wrong. "Is your sister with you?"

I felt myself flinch. "She doesn't like the city."

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

For a moment, we sat in tense quiet, each of us unwilling to say anything any more revealing. Or perhaps that was just me. I was mortified. How could I have revealed something so embarrassing? Insecurity started to gnaw at my stomach. We were still at odds. Even with my sudden revelation, I knew that that fundamental fact of our relationship hadn't changed.

"I live alone as well." I blinked, momentarily stunned into staring mutely up at the dark profile that Kyoya made, sitting cross-legged beside me, leaning back on his arms, his shoulders a bit hunched. He glanced away. "My brothers and sister are already out of the house and my parents… they concern themselves with things that they can profit from."

There was a guarded vulnerability to his words. Something that made me want to reach out and pull him close. Because I knew him. And I knew what that must have cost him to tell me such a personal fact, something that could get twisted around and exploited.

But I wouldn't, I thought. I didn't even want to in the slightest.

For a while, we sat like that, my knee pressed to his, our eyes on anything but each other.

* * *

_As always, I hope that all of you are staying lovely, hydrated and safe while we're under mass quarantine. I have a few readers from Italy on my other stories and while I know that every country is going through a nightmare right now, I just wanted to send out a bit more love to them. You guys are strong and full of so much vibrancy and even though it's horrifying and scary now, we will see the year after this._

_XOXO, Lovely_


	13. A Nickname is Given!

_Hope you guys are all doing well in these uncertain times. I won't be doing review responses this time but be assured that I will next chapter._

_As always, if you like me and want me to feel more than dead inside than please drop a review and follow/favorite._

* * *

Tedious. An utter waste of time.

"I hope we're not keeping you from something," Honey murmured sweetly, his wide, caramel eyes catching on the thin-lipped way that I was staring down at my watch. Beside him, Mori shifted, his silent manner seeming to catch every small interaction... More specifically the half-eaten chocolate cake on my plate and the sharp, impatient way that my index finger had started to tap at the table.

I resisted the urge to throw my now-cold glass of tea at his head. Now cold because it had taken them an hour to pluck up the mettle to wiggle their way into staying for lunch. Instead, I forced a smile, my eyes closing as if my facial muscles knew that they would give too much away. "Not at all. It's always lovely to catch up with friends."

Kyoya's dark snort from beside me sent a lava-hot burn of resentment through me, my eyes cracking open to glare at him out of the corners.

His dark eyes caught mine, flashing in an amused challenge, one brow quirking as he took a slow sip of his own tea. He had remained unflaggingly aloof through the whole conversation, resting back on the heel of his palms as if he had nowhere else to be. As if, I didn't know that the Ootori branch had twenty different business ventures going at once. Most of those ventures across the world, in areas with time zones that allowed for very little sleep. Weekends and nights were the only chance for people like us to keep those businesses lucrative.

But, yes. Tea with friends was _far_ more important.

Uncertainly, Honey's eyes moved to Haruhi, a sweet smile curling his lips as he scooted a bit closer to where she sat at the head of the table. "I'd really love it if you'd make us something for lunch, Haru-chan."

The urge to jump across the table and put my fingers around his chubby little neck was almost overwhelming.

Sitting in a fussy huddle at the other end of the table, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki all burst out with overlapping protests. They had been doing much the same thing the whole evening, one saying something mildly offensive before being tackled and censored by the remaining two. It had offered me a decent amount of entertainment up until it had reached 3 o'clock.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't look at the hosts like a dead animal you wanted to devour," Kyoya murmured, his eyes never leaving the fumbling of bodies as the other hosts gathered around Haruhi to try and put in their own plea for lunch.

 _Tap - tap -_ My nail set an impatient beat, my eyes moving almost unwillingly to my watch once more. Tamaki, the buffoon had made it sound like a simple housecall. If anything it was turning into a dinner party. _Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-_

"How would you want me to look at them?" I questioned softly, my eyes sliding to meet his smoky gaze, a shiver going up my spine at the understanding I saw there. Usually, his eyes were always a point of contention for me. I found myself getting more and more infuriated the more I had to stare into them. They were eyes meant for poetry - eyes meant to laugh at his traditional Asian features. They made him too beautiful and enticing to look away. They were eyes that once caught, no one could look away from.

But today they were darker like the clouds in his mind were casting shadows and now it took me some time to see the silver peeking out beneath the onyx darkness.

I tipped my head to the side, feeling the tumble of hair loosen from behind my ear. Those dark eyes followed that slip, his face something between dazed hunger and righteous annoyance. Like he didn't like the attention that he was paying me. But like he couldn't help paying it to me, nonetheless. I resisted the urge to preen.

For a moment, he didn't look away, his mind running some calculation that I would probably never be able to guess. I suspected that we were too much alike to ever truly know what each other thought. One or the other would always be a step behind, running a different track, thinking of a different scheme.

My breath caught at the quiet smile that curled his lips - a genuine one. One that made his eyes seem like an endlessly warm night sky, not closing and shutting me out like he did in normal meetings. No. He was staring right at me. His voice was low, deep when he finally answered me. "I'd like for you not to look at them at all."

There was a long, heavy pause, both of us trapped in the same intense stare.

I blinked, feeling like a zombie as I tried to recollect myself. It was like the man could cast spells. And here I was blundering along into them only to be pulled out by my own confusion. What did that even mean? Of course, I would have to look at them. I had to be around them because of our bet. His eyes stayed on me, taking in every confused twitch of my brows. It made me uncomfortable aware - I stilled, realization hitting me. Of course. Our bet. He still didn't trust me. I harrumphed, glaring up at him as I shoved away from the table and to my feet. He blinked, confused.

Well, if he wanted me away from his friends than he would need to forfeit.

I frowned, hurt making my next words sharp. "I have to make a business call."

I didn't wait for his reply, grabbing my purse and walking swiftly out onto the shaded corridor just outside. Luckily, the others were still engaged in whatever ludicrous display of male dominance they were competing in.

The distant sound of afternoon traffic drifted up to me, a car honking somewhere down the street. Compared to my own home in Japan, out here seemed more...alive. I breathed it, smelling warming yams on hot stones just down the street and some roasted, seasoned meat from the 7/11 around the corner. There was something appealing about living around other people - something that made you feel a little bit less alone.

I let out a breath, feeling something in me deflate a bit. I had no right to be mad at Kyoya. He had a reason to be guarded. My shoulders slumped, feeling somehow annoyed by the prospect of still competing with him. I struggled to remember why exactly I had hated him enough in the first place to begin. Something about my sister… For the past week or so, I had been running on my pride alone when it came to the competition. I couldn't remember the start of our agreement, somehow and I was finding it increasingly harder to scrub up enough hatred when I saw him.

Instead my feelings had been veering more and more towards a darkly uninhabited part of my mind. One that was pliable and unsure. It was mortifying. Instead of despising the very thought of Kyoya, I found myself softening at the prospect of seeing him again.

My real anger seemed to come from the fact that I wasn't able to steer myself anymore. I was a ship heading not for a port but toward some strange, foreign island.

My phone gave a shrill ring. I riffled through my purse, pulling out my phone with grim annoyance. I had been getting calls all day, each one from some assistant or other handing in monthly reports or concerns. Of course, I had been ignoring them. I would get back to them later tonight when I had more time. If I was lucky, I would be able to handle everything by 1 a.m. I grimaced, thinking about the business meeting I still had to attend at 5.

But this call was from someone even I wouldn't be able to dodge.

"Miss Houshakuji," a decidedly dry voice said from the other end. "I had begun to worry that a team of sharks had devoured you on your little beach day. Or maybe a jogger had rammed you off the side of a bridge somewhere. Good to know that you haven't been mortally wounded." I waited a beat, sensing the final edge to Mrs. Mercier's words. "Good but a bit of a wonder that you haven't answered a _single_ call from _anyone_ today."

I forced a smile, feeling closer to jumping over the railing than answering anything concerning Mrs. Mercier or the Houshakuji business. Pleasantly, I diverted. "Now that's not true," I spoke lightly, hearing the sharp exhale that had to be steamrolling out of her nostrils. "Why I answered calls all this morning."

" _Three_ calls," she snapped, all of her restraint broken. "One from our cafe in Seoul asking about display designs and _two_ from your Tamaki Suoh."

Well, if she had pulled my records than there wasn't much I could do about it.

Her voice was the closes to unhinged that I had ever heard it, clicking in the background signalling that she had started to pace rather quickly from one spot to another. "I've been fielding calls all day, Miss Houshakuji. Three calls from our stores in Hong Kong noting civil unrest in the area - they're getting antsy to shut down for a week or two until the protests stop. One call from our boutique in Texas asking for help with some back orders that haven't been addressed. And three calls - _three_ \- from your father asking if you've heard from your mother and when you'll be back with your sister."

I stared out blindly at the afternoon sun, unbelievably grateful that I had missed all of those calls. Rather unfair to Mercier but I've learned to take the good moments in and relish them.

I gave a low hum, my attention caught by Honey and Mori as the first dashed from the Fujioka residence with a gleeful hoot, and the ladder followed silently after, giving me a brief, blank nod as he passed.

"We're going to the common's supermarket!" The Hitacchiin twins shouted excitedly as they hurried after the first two, each looking ridiculously excited by the prospect. "Commoner's supermarket! Commoners supermarket!"

"THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!" Came Honey's shrill squeal as he slid down the stairs at a frankly terrifying speed.

I turned away, trying to focus as I heard Mrs. Mercier take a deep breath. And then another. Eventually, it sounded like a porky pig was on the other end running a marathon.

"Mrs. Mercier," I started reasonably, trying to force so much calm into my voice that it made her calm down as well. The only thing i really got was her cursing for a full minute in French, having pulled the receiver away from her lips so that she sounded like she was a room away. I waited for her to come back before continuing. "Mrs. Mercier, those are all calls that are in different time zones. We have a window - one that is wide enough for me to answer back tonight. In all honesty, you had two calls - our offices in China will be handled based on region, and our backorder issue can be addressed more specifically by the facility."

A dark shadow fell over me, tall and lean it blanketed my back, the scent of ink and something warmer tickling my nose. I glanced back, catching his watchful stare for a moment. He always looked at me… so directly. Like there was an immediate problem in every room and it was always me.

"Your father-" Mercier was saying, her accent getting harsher as she rushed.

I shook my head, tearing my eyes away from Kyoya's. At my back, I felt him shift, a ghost of air traveling along my spine before - My breath caught, my cheeks warming. Cool, calloused fingertips were traveling so gently along the dipped edges of my sleeves - across my shoulder blades, along my spine - for a moment I doubted if I was imagining it. "Mrs. - Mrs. Mercier, my father's a big boy. He can handle not getting a call for a night or two. Especially since I updated him just yesterday."

And just like that, that soft touch was gone, leaving me wondering, dazed. I glanced over my shoulder once more, shivering at the down-turn of Kyoya lips, his brows tipped low in confusion. At his side, his fingers her clenched tightly.

"You know he doesn't like it-"

I cut her off, tired of the conversation. "Mrs. Mercier. I'll handle it. As of this moment, nothing is pressing."

There was a long, tense pause. One that I knew well. It was the sound of someone swallowing all of their pride. "Yes, ma'am."

"Have Mr. Yu at the Fujioka residence at 4:30." I hung up before I could incur any more of her venom. Hanging up on her wasn't the best way for me to end the call but what choice did she give me? Any longer and I would have felt like I was nine again and he had caught me stealing my sister's violin.

Dejectedly, I thought about what kind of wine I would have to buy her to get me back in her good graces.

Kyoya's eyes drifted to the street below, their depths lasering onto a leanly pretty woman with a fire of red hair. She was deceptively pretty with an uncanny presence that suggested she knew more than she was willing to tell. I watched her, curious as she crossed the street, her scarf swishing demurely in the wind.

Strong fingers curled around my wrist, a smile curling the darker haired boy's lips as he tugged me down the corridor and around the corner. We stopped just around the bend, a secretive smile curling Kyoya's lips as he took up a casual stance against the wall, his head tipped to the side so that he could catch a glimpse of the hall we had just exited.

I eyed him suspiciously, trying not to think too hard about the fact that his hand was still wrapped warmly around my wrist, his thumb resting against my palm. Shivery little butterflies danced along my stomach, my face flushing at the touch.

"Are we playing hide and go seek with the twins and Honey?" I asked, softening my voice. For some reason, this felt like a secret. This moment felt cocooned - something to be treated delicately.

The silver in his eyes flashed through the darkness, twinkling as he leaned a bit closer. He was so tall, I thought, not for the first time but each time he towered over me like that, his shoulders hunching in like he was trying to cocoon me… Each time I was hit by it all over again. Strands of his ebony hair spilled forward, brushing across his brow as I looked up at him.

"Haurhi's father should be getting home around this time from the bar he works at," he murmured, that smile turning mischievous at the corners as he glanced back at the hallway. Now I could hear the distant clicking of heels, the thump of a bag against a hip.

My mind ran over why this would be important, remembering the twins and Honey flying from the house. Tamaki and Haruhi - I stilled, my lips curling in a shocked smile. "Tamaki and Haruhi haven't left yet."

His smile was pure evil. Around the bend, I heard a cheery, lightly feminine voice ring out: "I'm home, Haruhi~ Hey, why'd you leave the door open?"

I gasped, cringing but unable to stop myself from stepping a bit closer to peek around his side and out into the hallway. I could see the woman who I had been admiring just moments before, her eyes latched onto something inside of the open door with stunned disbelief.

"I wonder what they've been doing for the past few minutes," Kyoya mused, his voice just beside my ear, his breath tickling the hair there.

I could hear Haruhi's voice answering, calmly from inside the room. Still, we were too far away to catch any of the words only the resulting blink from the stock-still woman. I placed a steadying hand against the cool wall, feeling Kyoya shift to stand just behind me as we tried to each get a better angle. I half-expected Tamaki to come flying out of the room, airborne, over the railing. God only knew what my own father would do to a boy that he caught me alone with.

"I can't believe you didn't warn him," I whispered, feeling the warm expanse of Kyoya's chest against my own as he leaned a little bit closer. An odd flutter skittered up my sides, warming my ears. It felt unnervingly good to have him so close.

"I've always wondered how far Tamaki's act will get him," Kyoya said, his voice refreshingly plain. "When faced with her real father would he drop the daddy act? Or can he fool himself into thinking that he still has these feelings out of paternal affection?"

I blinked, debating. "His feelings for Haruhi?" Tipping my head back, I craned until I could see the angular profile of his face, his eyes flicking to meet mine. "You mean he…"

A slow, dubious smile curled his lips. His head turned, his nose almost bumping mine as he gave me his full attention. "You don't know."

I blinked a few more times, unhappy that I still didn't have a single idea what he was talking about. Desperately, I racked my mind. Tamaki was always fooling around with Haruhi but I had just always assumed that was because of her unique social standing. She had to be an oddity in his eyes.

Bitterly, I frowned, thoroughly unhappy as I watched his smile turned to something almost marveling. Like he was completely enraptured by the sight of me being so utterly lost. "I… I don't know."

His smile widened, relishing in the moment for a minute longer before he was taking mercy on me. "He's infatuated with her, sweets."

I sniffed, my eyes narrowing on him, the sudden revelation undermined by the sudden nickname. "Sweets? What kind of nonsense-"

"You don't like it?" He eyed me dubiously. "You're always going on about using your last name or honorifics - I thought this might cut out the middle man a bit."

I glared up at him. I may not have been born in Japan but I sure as hell knew the customs. Names meant everything here. How you used a name directed others on your level of intimacy. Him giving me a nickname… A nickname that only he would be able to use.

"How the hell did you even think of that-" I started to snarl, incredibly thrown by the sudden change.

His eyes crinkled in a slow smile, his eyes moving briefly to just over my shoulder before they roamed back to me. "You don't like them, do you?" I blinked, taken aback. He pressed his advantage. "Japanese sweets? You don't like them, do you?"

How had he known that? I fumbled for all of our conversations, riffling through them haphazardly as I tried to find out where he had gathered that information. Was it online? Had I mentioned it to one of the host members?

I couldn't think of a single instance where I had let that slip. I did hate Japanese sweets. They made rice balls better here and hot pots and almost everything else besides pastries and cakes. After living in France for so long it was hard to find very much that compared to a chocolate croissant with espresso. But how-

"You never even finish half of the sweets that are on your plate," he replied, quietly, his eyes running over my face with a warmth that made me feel light-headed. "Every time I've seen you, you've avoided the cakes."

I stared up at him, open-mouthed. My mind spun. What he had said… He… Had he really been paying that much attention to me. For a moment, he returned my stare, looking somehow vulnerable in the low-light of the corridor. His hair tumbled over his face, tickling at his ears and brows.

I didn't know what to say.

"It's almost 4:30," he finally whispered, breaking that odd spell that had been wrapped around us. He pushed away from me, his eyes darting once more to the hallway beyond. "Come on, sweets. They'll be sure to miss us."

I didn't follow. Instead, I stared after him, dumbfounded. He… confused me. My head spun in half-hearted circles, my insides warm and shivering. Smoothly, he strode away, one hand going casually to run through his hair before he was stuffing both of them into his pockets.

He had just revealed something to me. Something that I still couldn't entirely name. Or maybe… maybe I was too afraid to face it just yet.

But still… A wondering, dazed smile tugged at my lips, shivering through me like the first sip of a sparkling cider.

For the first time in a long time… _I was thrilled._

* * *

_As always, I love you guys and I hope that everyone's staying safe. You guys are always in my thoughts and I seriously can't express how much I appreciate having you here to read my stuff. Much love._


	14. The Sun, the Sea, and the Host Club!

_A/N: I think I'm getting a headache from the scented candle in my room right now but hopefully it made my writing sweeter for you guys!_

* * *

Fashionably late - that was what my mother always said. Not too late to annoy anyone but late enough to let them know that you had other, greater things to be doing. _Like gracing the worshippers with a brief angelic appearance_ , she would breeze, tapping on some more rouge.

That thought, I thought, was a sentiment of someone who didn't have very much going on in their lives.

"Well, well, well," the Hitachiin twins sang as I made my way farther onto Kyoya Ootori's private beach. Behind me, the small the bamboo-made bungalows and rest areas sat clustered like a small, ghostly residence. The whole area closest to the sea seemed to be under renovation. Or perhaps permanently abandoned until the Ootori family decided to use it in some sort of flaunting gesture. Distantly, I heard the sound of people talking, the volume muffled against the chirp of birds and distant roll of waves caressing sand.

Okinawa was quiet in the way that many places with vast, sprawling oceans and sand usually are - stuck in some dreamy universe where everything seems a bit softer. The sun had become sunken in the horizon, casting the sky into pensive shades of purple, cerulean, and pink as it gave way to the night sky. Beneath the final, dying blaze of the sun, the sea softened, it's depths turning milky and mournful in the ebbing light.

Koaru's face split into a toothy grin, his caramel eyes twinkling as he threw an arm over his brother's shoulder. "Your husband won't be too happy."

"I don't have a husband," I snapped immediately, my head instinctively craning around the two as I tried to get a peek at the rest of the beach. I only found a sprawl of sun and sand, girls in their best bikinis giggling around. Mori and Honey were doing an aerobics class just a few steps away, rolling into a variety of impressive yoga poses. Just across the way, I could barely make out the slim figure of Haruhi, fully clothed, looking closer to being a fisherman than a student with a bucket filled with shellfish in one hand, muddling through the shallows. Huffing, I drew back, glaring up at the two twins. "Sometimes I don't even think Kyoya likes me."

"HA!" Hikaru crowed, one brow already quirking in dubious skepticism. "You've got to be kidding me."

Kaoru rolled his eyes, catching sight of their own gaggle of host girls slipping closer and closer as they waited for the two to return to a volleyball game. As I watched, his gaze instantly changed, getting mooney and heavy-lidded as he turned into his brother's side. "Oh, Hikaru. Some people just don't know the power that they have over others," he breathed, dragging a finger along his twin's cheekbone. Instantly, Hikaru wilted, playing the along meekly to his brother's sudden change. "I find myself so drawn-"

"No!" Hikaru yelped and I grabbed the wide-brim of my hat, tugging it down over my ears in a pitiful attempt at protection. "Don't say it, Kaoru!"

"HOW MUCH LONGER MUST I WAIT?!" Kaoru wailed, turning away with tears glimmering in his long lashes.

The crowd of girls each let out similar sounds of anguish that eventually devolved into what sounded to be a herd of seals. Unable to take it any longer, I ducked away, moving quickly toward where Haruhi was. A shadow fell over me before I could get more than halfway there, a darkly rich voice following. "You're late."

I blinked, feeling my heart drop suddenly to my toes as I slowly turned and then stuttered out a breath as I realized that Kyoya wasn't wearing a shirt, his hair a bit windswept, falling chaotically across his brow and spiking up in the back in obsidian waves. I felt my face flush as my eyes dragged down to the leanly muscular planes of his chest and abs. He was fit in the way that a track runner would be, his waist tapered, his pecs and shoulders rigidly defined beneath an expanse of pale skin.

"I -" I looked away, staring hard at a thatched roof just behind his elbow. "Meeting - I had a meeting with one of our investors."

Mentally, I cursed, my cheeks going hotter as I caught the amused tilt of his lips out of the corner of my eye. The fact that I was still dressed in business attire would probably have tipped him off to the fact that I had come straight from a meeting - the light pink shirt tucked into a pink plaid skirt bizarre against the ocean background. Heat crawled along my neck, increasing at an alarming rate. Sand clumped between my toes, the heels in my hand feeling clunky. Gulping, I met Kyoya's gaze once more, that amused smirk breaking and burst from him in a short, sharp laugh before he clamped his mouth shut around it, turning to the side with a cough.

My heart rabbited against my ribcage, thumping in a tempo so harsh that I drew in a painful gasp, blinking against the dazzling effect that his laugh had on me. "I - That's why - I didn't have time to change before I-"

The muscles in his shoulders rolled, one hand slipping into his pocket as the other reached out, his fingers toying with the loose, gauzy bow at the collar of my shirt. His piercing gray eyes stayed there as he wound the long string around one finger, my breath twisting tighter with him. Those eyes seemed to deepen as I watched, his pupils dilating slightly before he was glancing up, finally meeting my gaze, a few stray strands of hair falling messily into one eye. "You're beautiful."

An odd glow lit up my insides, my mouth curling upwards in a dash of a smile as he gave me the same, his teeth flashing in a crooked half-grin. My stomach tightened as we stared at each other, something charged lighting the air.

He had said that to me the last time that we had seen each other too, I realized with a dazed sort of wonder, my head tipping to the side as I peered up at him. Kyoya's head cocked as well, his eyes following me with an amused sort of interest, his fingers still winding my bow around and around…

"Are you trying to distract me?" I blurted out, my voice sounding breathless as he blinked.

A single brow quirked at the question. "What would I be distracting you from?"

"I don't know," I admitted, confusion knitting my brow as the bow started to cinch a bit tighter around my neck. He leaned a bit down, closer to me. "But… the last couple of times that we've met… you've said things-"

I cut myself off, unwilling to finish my train of thought. He had said things that had… unbalanced me. He said things that made me dizzy. And the way that he was looking down at me, his lips parted in the barest of smiles… He seemed to be enjoying it.

The bow got tighter, Kyoya's hands yanking forward with enough force that I gasped, stumbling into his bare chest. My face went hot all over again, his skin warm from a day out in the sun, his arms curling around my waist as he steadied me.

His face dipped, his nose touching mine as his eyes held me captive, deep like a stormy sky giving way to night. His breath was hot against my lips, his voice a gravelly whisper. "Is it working?"

My mind spun, muddy. My skin tingled with the contact, fingers curling against the strong muscles of his chest. With him this close - I couldn't even think about his current question, much less the topic of our conversation. I blinked up at him, dazed. "Wh-what?"

His pupils dilated further, darkness taking over the gray there, his gaze watchful, heated. His breath sighed out, hot, burning against my lips, his nose pressing hard to mine as he leaned a bit closer. My insides fluttered, tingling, a yearning whole opening up inside of me as my fingers curled, biting into his shoulders. My eyes fluttered, closing as I felt his lips graze mine in the ghost of a-

"HARUHI!" We jerked, our heads whipping to the side at the same time as Tamaki came barreling down the beach, his face turned toward a slice of cliff just at the far side of the beach. Mind muddled, I swam up, trying to comprehend what was happening as six dark silhouettes danced along the top of the ridge. A small, petite frame wiggled, caught in another person's grip as they danced closer and closer to the edge.

"What the hell?" Kyoya snarled and I could feel the stiffening in his chest, the roll of his biceps as his arms tightened around me, angling toward the cliff. I tore my eyes away from the confusing scene, glancing up at the harsh angles of his face, his brows knit together as a muscle in his jaw twitched.

And then I heard a splash, deafening in the stillness of the Okinawa evening. I jerked, gasping as I spun around to see the ripple foam, the water indenting as if it were a mattress that had just been jumped on. Gold glinted somewhere above and I let out a harsh curse as the slim figure of Tamaki went diving off immediately after, sprinting past the now motionless silhouettes.

"Come on," I said quickly, disentangling myself from his hold and grabbing his wrist as I took off at a dead sprint down the beach. The twins were just ahead of us, their flash of hair burning like torches in the setting sun.

"That was Haruhi!" Honey called as we passed, both Mori and he looking like Bassette poised to run in the next seconds.

"Stay here," Kyoya commanded as we ran passed. "They might need help getting out of the water!"

My heart gave an uncomfortable leap, my stomach dropped as he neared the rocky path that led to the top of the cliff. My fingers went numb as I tossed my shoes to the side, scrambling up the side of the incline with a panic that surprised me. When had I started to care about whether the host got hurt or not, I wondered dumbly, gritting my teeth as the jagged side of a rock cut into the sole of my foot.

My breath sawed unevenly from my throat as I followed unsteadily after the twins, Kyoya's presence a steadying force behind me.

"YOU BASTARDS!" Kaoru was yelling as we finally reached the top, sweat dribbling down my back.

The sound of someone's fist going into soft skin made me wince, the twins both looming above the now bleeding forms of two boys. Hikaru's voice was rabid. "You think it's cool to go after someone smaller than you?!"

Kyoya's eyes ran over the scene in a rapid calculation, his breath barely lost as he quickly turned to the huddle of three girls standing off to the side. They were white, shaking against each other in a way that made me feel simultaneously guilty and angry.

Kyoya's voice was smooth, controlled as he stepped toward them, a polite smile on his face. "Ladies - I'm sorry but I think it would be better if you went home for the day. It seems that our event has come to an end."

The one with the shortest hair, blinked, her arms wrapped around the smaller of the threesome who was shaking like a newborn. "Kyoya - Kyoya sempai, we - we were just trying to…"

The tallest one, her hair long, cut in, her voice trembling as she glanced to where the twins were continuing their… conversation. "They suddenly came up here and-"

"Is Haruhi okay?" the smallest one broke in, her voice a raw sob. The three girls seemed to condense into each other, their bodies pressed so tightly together that from below they must have looked like one entity.

My breath slowed, my mind finally catching up as I stepped forward, brushing past Kyoya. "Everything's going to be fine." Making my smile soft, I gestured out to the ocean, catching sight of Tamaki as he broke the surface with Haurhi clinging to his side. "See? We're sorry about the inconvenience."

Kyoya's smile was a thin, cold thing, his eyes closing as he gestured to the path that led to the beach. "The Host club will take full responsibility for the risk to your safety this evening and the men in question will be dealt with accordingly."

"We'll update the online page when Haruhi is properly rested from this," I added, seeing the questions bubbling up in their eyes. I gave them a warm smile, reaching out to give each of them a gentle squeeze. "You were all very brave today."

"I - we weren't," the short-haired girl fumbled, blushing. I smiled, careful to gentle my face as I wrapped an arm around her back, steering her toward the pathway.

"It was all Haruhi," the smallest one blurted, her cheeks red as I stepped back, enticing them to go ahead of me.

My eyes met Kyoya's as I passed, his gaze hard, his jaw tight. If I could read him at all, then the wait for the police would be very long for those two men. I resist the urge to reach out and touch him, forcing my attention back to the girls.

"You each went through something very harrowing today," I murmured, helping the long-haired one down a particularly gravelly area and to the beach. The three of them glanced around, catching sight of the darkly clad officers racing toward the cliff. I discreetly edged in front of the view, smiling as they blinked, blushing. "You shouldn't downplay the experience that you just went through." I met each of their eyes, letting warmth seep into my voice. "You're all very strong."

They stuttered, their eyes widening as their cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red. Slowly, the short-haired one spoke, her voice echoed, dazedly by the other two. "Th-thank you, Miss Ko."

I grinned, closing my eyes. "You can just call me Ko."

Breathy sighs fluttered from the group.

"Are the intruders up here?" I turned, nodding quickly as the officers finally reached us.

"They're right up there," I said, pointing and then holding up a hand as the five men started to barrel past me. "Would one of you be able to see that these three safely get to their destinations? They've been through quite an ordeal."

"Of course, Miss," the last one affirmed, stepping closer to the three girls. He gestured at them. "If you'd follow me."

I turned, giving the girls a final smile as they followed after him, their eyes latched dreamily on me. Slowly, I raised a hand in farewell. "I hope to see you again soon."

"Oh yes!" the smallest one gushed, nodding with the other two. "We would love that."

I didn't drop my smile until they had disappeared around the first bend of the bungalows, my face feeling stiff as I quickly skirted around the side of the rocks and toward where I could see Tamaki hauling Haruhi from the water. At my back, I heard the slip and slide of shoes as Kyoya and the twins released the boys to the police.

"HARU-CHAN!" Honey called, his body stiff as he stepped forward. At his back, Mori's face looked tenser than usual.

Hikaru and Kaoru sprinted past me, their eyes thin with worry. "Boss!"

Haruhi seemed small, fragile in Tamaki's arms, her head lulling into his chest as he carried her from the water. The golden-haired host's face was sterner than I had ever seen it, his hair falling limply into violet eyes. His gaze cut in my direction, Kyoya's lean body shadowing my own as we stopped. "Where'd they go?"

His smile was slim, his hand coming out to rest warmly along the small of my back. "We took their ID cards and respectfully asked them to leave."

I resisted the urge to snort, stepping forward to take a closer look at Haruhi. Blurrily, her eyes opened, blinking up at me in the glow of the setting sun. Gingerly, I mover her hair away from her temples, checking that she hadn't hit her head on the way down. Silently, I looked over her body, making quick work of checking for blood or bruising.

Behind me, Kyoya continued. "The girls all went back to the hotel thanks to Ko and I've called a doctor."

"Any nausea? Headaches? Dizziness?" I inquired softly, squeezing along one arm and then the other as she shook her head.

Kyoya's voice deepened and I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck. "He should be arriving here any minute now."

"No pain in your arms or legs that's more than an ache?" I questioned, moving onto her legs, rolling her ankles as she kept an eye on my progress.

"My back hurts a little," she admitted, her voice raspy. I smiled, patting her knee. "And my chest feels like I just got hit my an anvil."

"That's to be expected since you just fell over 30 feet into the ocean," I said gently, looking up at Tamaki. "She'll be sore but she should be fine for you to set her down."

"I didn't think that your family was exploring the medical field, sweets," Kyoya whispered, his fingers skimming along my waist once more as I glanced up at him.

I blushed, looking away as the other hosts eyed me in varying degrees of interest and… trust. Coughing lightly, I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "Renge was clumsy when she was little."

 _And more often than not I was the one who was around to pick her up and clean up her off_. I clamped my mouth around the words, a pang up sadness tightening my gut. From the expressions on their faces, it looked like I didn't need to say it though. A small, almost gentle smile slipped across Kyoya's face.

" _Merci_ ," Tamaki murmured, his voice graver than I had ever heard it before as he gently set Haruhi on her feet.

"I'm fine, you guys," Haruhi said and I blinked at the exasperation that crept into her voice. My eyes met Kyoya's for a brief moment of confusion, catching the hardening of his gaze. "I don't need a doctor. You heard what Ko said."

"No," I cut in, my eyes narrowing as Haruhi blinked across at me in slight surprise. I shook my head, frowning slightly. "I didn't say that. You still fell from a cliff, Haruhi. At the very least, you need to be checked by a professional today and more than likely through the week." Her eyes narrowed on me and I cocked my head to the side, taking the expression in with interest. Beside me, Kyoya frowned. "You could have a serious brain injury, Haruhi."

Her expression soured as Tamaki's tightened, the other host looking just as disturbed by the action. "You're overreacting."

Tamaki's face darkened further, his face flashing with anger as he stared down at her. "What were you _thinking_?" I leaned a bit further into Kyoya's side, feeling vaguely uncomfortable with the tension in the air. "You know you're not like Honey-senpai. You're not a martial arts master."

Honey's face hardened, his eyes attentive as he took in the conversation. For a moment, I was surprised to see the head-on stare, the easy confidence in his stance even as he had a blow-up floatie around his waist. It was the stare of someone much older than he always seemed to be, the playfulness gone. Behind him, Mori was a pillar, his face decidedly blank.

Tamaki's eyes were imploring as he leaned down, his hands encompassing nearly all of Haruhi's shoulders as he grasped onto her. " _Why_ did you confront them? What made you think that you would stand a chance? You against two boys?"

The cut on my foot burned, sand slipping into the raw tissue as I stepped from foot to foot. At my side, Kyoya's eyes slipped to me and then further down to my feet, his brows knitting together.

"But it doesn't matter that they're boys and I'm a girl," she protested, her voice steely and I saw the twins flinch. "I was there. I had to do something. There wasn't any time to think-"

"That doesn't matter, you idiot!" Tamaki burst, his voice frayed. "Don't forget - you're a girl."

I winced, my head snapping to the side to stare at Tamaki. Briefly, his eyes cut to me, his expression pained.

I heard the grating anger in Haruhi's voice as she replied. "Look, I'm sorry you had to come and save me, senpai." My face tightened even more at her next words. "But I don't understand why you're so mad at me right now. I don't think I did anything wrong."

The other five boys tensed, their expressions strained even as they remained silent.

Tamaki's whole body went rigid, his eyes burning as he pulled away from her slowly. "You don't think so? Fine. Whatever you say." Coldly, he brushed past her, barely glancing at her. "But I'm not speaking to you until you can admit that you were wrong."

Pregnant silence hung over the group, Haruhi's shoulders rigid as she stared out at the sea, unwilling to look back as Tamaki brushed past all of us. Slowly, the twins followed after, each glancing back at Haruhi with pained expressions.

"Come on," Kyoya murmured and I yelped as his arm curled more tightly around my waist and he ducked, the other swopping beneath my knee.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, squealing a bit as he tossed me up, catching more securely as he turned, making his way toward the mansion that I had seen on my way to his beach.

His eyes flicked to me, one brow quirking before he flicked his gaze pointedly to my foot. I blinked, following the look and gasping. My foot was dripping blood, clumps of sand sticking wetly to my toes and arches, looking like grainy, bloody meats of skin.

"You'll need to see the doctor as well," he said quietly and I blinked, still surprised at the sheer amount of blood still coursing out.

"Haru-chan?" I glanced over Kyoya's broad shoulder, catching sight of Honey tugging gently at Haruhi's shirt, his expression softer now. He would take care of getting her back to the house, thankfully.

" _Ignorants, entêté fille_ ," a voice whispered rapidly in French. I blinked, glancing to the side to see that we had caught up to Tamaki, his teeth bared in anger as he stormed forward, somehow looking like more a dejected dog than an angry bull. His eyes cut toward us. "Can you believe her?"

"Oh, come on, Tamaki," Kyoya mused, his voice lilting with mocking amusement. "You know how Haruhi is."

"And I also know how badly that could have gone if her luck had been a little bit worse," Tamaki snapped, his face reddening. " _Ça aurait pu être un désastre_!"

"She was doing what she thought was right," I soothed, somehow disturbed at the rage in his eyes. Tamaki had always been the gentle one - nearly unflappable in his good nature.

"A girl against two boys, Ko!" he snapped and I shook my head.

"You need to stop saying that," I said, catching his eyes sternly.

His expression tightened. "So you're saying that you would have done the same thing?!" he demanded and I felt Kyoya's arms tense around me.

I smiled at the notion. "Yes. I would have." Tamaki's mouth gaped open, his brows furrowing in what was sure to be a gear-up for a massive outburst. I held up a finger, continuing. "Haruhi and I are two very different people though." I flipped my hair, staring at him cooly as I saw Kyoya turn his head, hiding his face as his mouth curled with a barely contained laugh. "In most situations, my name can stop a lot of unwanted attention. And in others… well, heiresses need to know how to defend themselves as well."

Tamaki's face didn't change, his head bobbing in a nod of agreement. "See? That was exactly what I said-!"

I shook my head again, raising a brow. "No, what you said was that a _girl_ wouldn't be able to defend herself against two boys."

His eyes widened. "That's not exactly-"

I smiled, shrugging. "Allow me to paraphrase."

His expression wilted a bit, his shoulders drooping. "That's not what I meant."

"What you meant was that Haruhi had the opportunity to call out to six other boys to come and help her," I supplied, feeling a bit sorry for him as he nodded along, looking like a lost puppy. "But instead she decided to go up there, by herself, without any way to protect herself."

"Yes," he confirmed, his eyes wide and imploring.

I smiled, laying my head against Kyoya's chest for a moment, the rising and falling over his chest like my own personal ocean. His skin smelled sweet and salty like coconut water and the sea.

Tiredly, I met Tamaki's gaze once more. "She was in the wrong but you were also wrong for the way that you made it sound. She isn't weak because she's a girl." I mulled over my next words and then finally shrugged. "That's the real reason she got upset. Because it doesn't really have anything to do with her gender."

Tamaki's mouth tightened, his face sullen. "I hate it whenever I'm wrong."

"Really?" Kyoya questioned blandly, the lights from the nearing mansion dancing across his glasses. "I would have thought you would be used to it by now."

* * *

I've started listening to my Halloween lofi playlist so this was a little weird since the chapter is definitely set on the beach in the summer lol. As always, hope you guys are happy, healthy, and safe. Please leave a review if ya love me and want to read more!

**_French:_ **

_Merci: Fuck you. (Totally kidding. It's thank you.)_

_Ignorants, entêté fille: Ignorant, head-strong girl._

_Ça aurait pu être un désastre: It could have been an absolute disaster!_


	15. A Doctor's Visit!

The Ootori estate was more-or-less a full-blown beach-side mansion. As Kyoya carried me down the marble-floored corridors, expensive light fixtures dotting the halls like fairy light, I glanced around with open interest. It was a lot grander than I had thought. No, I mused, frowning as my mind stuttered over the description. That wasn’t the right word. Because the Ootori household…

It felt cold. Unused. Like a house with too much space - so much that ghosts were more than able to slip in, stiffening the air.

“You’re making that face again.” I blinked, turning away from the arched design of the corridor, the walls a dark marble that blended with the floor. It made me feel like we were going deeper into the belly of a cave, each step distancing us from the lively cheer of the rest of the host club as they prepared dinner. Kyoya’s face was neutral although his eyes shown sharp and critical in the low light. His body held the same loose confidence that he always seemed to have - as if he didn’t particularly care about the rest of the world but was merely tolerating it. 

I blinked, trying to gauge what he meant by his previous comment and he returned my stare, his face remaining blank as he elaborated. “Like a kitten that’s gotten into its owner’s sock drawer.”

I frowned, not liking the implication at all as he gave me a sharp smirk. Blood was still dripping slowly from my toes, leaving a grotesque trail behind us and even though Kyoya had been carrying me for a while now, his arms didn’t falter beneath my knee and back, his fingers splayed widely.

“I’m not a kitten,” I snapped, a hot flush creeping along my cheeks at the most likely “owner.” My eyes darted away as I thought about how utterly ridiculous it was to let him get under my skin like this. I was a businesswoman, goddamit. And here I was - my tail wagging for some rich kid’s son! Narrowing my eyes, I turned my gaze back to Kyoya’s catching the sly tilt of his lips, the heavy way that his slate eyes seemed to watch me in baited amusement. My temper flared, our bet flashing through my mind and making me even angrier. Because how dare he? How dare he yank me around like this? “And you can put me down. No one’s around for this to benefit either of us.”

His gaze hardened even though his smirk didn’t so much as twitch, a tension corded the muscles of his arms beneath me. For a moment, I regretted what I had said. We had been getting along so well and… My heart fluttered as I remembered his lips brushing mine, heat tingling along them now.

That quickly went flying from my mind as his arms tightened and then heaved beneath me, my arms flailing as I was tossed up into the air and then deftly caught by Kyoya again. My mind spun, my hands latching behind his neck as I tried to catch my breath.

“What the hell was that?!” I snarled, livid as I glare into his eyes.

A small smirk graced his lips as he turned a corner, the hall giving way to a series of doors. The smoke in his eyes rolled, laughing at me even as his face smoothed into a polite regret. “My apologies. My arms were getting tired and I had to readjust.”

“By tossing me up in the air?” I seethed, feeling my blood boiling in my veins at the innocent tilt of his brows.

His resulting smile was one I absolutely loathed. His eyes closed, his lips slipping into a polished display of good-will - a mask meant to please and give nothing away. Kyoya’s hair slipped chaotically into his face, his glasses flashing for a moment as we came to a halt outside a thick, mahogany door with lines of silver edging the sides. “Here’s your room.”

All of my earlier anger flooded away from me, leaving me with nothing more than a sudden anxiety that made me dizzy. A room meant an overnight stay. And an overnight stay meant that I wouldn’t be able to get back to the house by 2 A.M. and make the call to my father. My muscles tightened. Or the 6 A.M. business overview that I had with Mrs. Mercier.

My palm slammed into the door frame with a reverberating crash, my fingers throbbing from the force as I stuttered out a protest. “N-no. I’m not staying long enough to need a room.”

Kyoya blinked down at me, our body halfway into the door, his mouth parted in bewilderment. If I wasn’t so filled with dread, I might have cheered at the amount of emotional upheaval I was causing him. His eyes flicked pointedly to my foot and then back to me. “Right now you’re dripping blood onto my grandparent’s summer home.”

“I have a conference call at 6 tomorrow morning,” I snapped right back.

“We have wifi,” he returned and I frowned. His eyes darkened to a stormy gray. “You’re not getting on a plane tonight with a foot like that.”

“I beg to differ,” I huffed, straightening as much as I could while I was still cradled against him like an animal that he had found out in the rain. My nose almost brushed his jaw as I tilted my head back. “Once I get a doctor to look at my foot, I can go home.”

His jaw tightened, a ticking starting at the ridge of his cheek, his eyes going darker as he stared down at me. “You’re not going anywhere without someone going with you. Not with your foot like this.”

“I’ll hire a babysitter,” I snapped sweetly, flashing him a fake smile. My fingers clenched down on the sturdy wood frame before letting go demurely. “If you’ll just taking me to the sitting room, I’ll happily get treated by your doctor and be on my way.”

Beneath my side, Kyoya’s chest rolled, tightening and cording in a way that made me very aware of the fact that he had been carrying me for the last hour like it was no problem. Which meant he was freakishly strong. The muscle in his chin was still ticking as he strode purposefully into the room, ignoring my spluttered protests and all but threw me into a rose-gold loveseat that sat up against an enormous bed covered in the same soft pink and dazzling gold sheets and pillows.

“What the hell do you think you’re do-” I stopped talking, all of the breath whooshing out of me as Kyoya’s hands gripped the back of the seat, his body surrounding me.

It happened so quickly that for a moment, my whole world went off-kilter, knocked silly by the sheer force of his warmth, his familiar ink-stained scent tampered by the ocean. This close, his eyes were consuming, dark and stunning in the brighter light of the room. He was close, very close. 

“I’ll tell you what the doctor will most likely do when he gets here.” His voice was lower, taunting as he whispered to me and I resisted the urge to shiver as I felt his breath blowing warmly against my lips. “He’ll probably give you a little pep talk, numb the area and then disinfect it. Then this nice doctor is going to tell you, very calmly, that you’ll need stitches because you decided to split your  _ foot _ open and not some less mobile part of your body-”

I opened my mouth, ready to protest that last bit but quickly shut it as Kyoya’s head shifted to the side, his nose bumping mine in an intimate reprimand. My heart skittered, stopping as his lashes dipped, his eyes trailing to my lips for a long moment. I felt my insides kindle, lighting, a warm ache starting in my abdomen. Slowly, he took a breath, his eyes flicking up to mine.

“Then he’s probably going to give you an anesthetic because my last name is Ootori and you’re my guest and he knows that if you aren’t comfortable than he won’t be comfortable for a bit either.” This part seemed like a threat and… I blushed, unable to tear my gaze away from his. “Then the stitches will happen, bandages and then another round of cleaning. And then finally he’ll give you a little orange bottle filled with pills and tell you that for the next 24 hours you need to be under  _ supervision _ and that it’s advisable that you  _ don’t fly _ for that amount of time either.”

His hair tickled my brow, soft and teasing as he tilted his head to the side, his eyes darkly heated, intense. I gulped and that gaze followed the closing of my mouth, the movement of my throat as I swallowed. Unwanted, my fingers fidgetted in my lap, my injured foot weakly suspended above the carpet as I stayed trapped between Kyoya and the loveseat.

The muscles in Kyoya’s shoulders rolled, drawing my attention for a moment before his voice snapped my gaze back to his.”Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

I took a breath and then another one, stuttering out an answer. “To wait for your doctor so that I can ask him and not listen to my fake boyfriend.”

A startled flash of a smile curled his lips, his almond eyes crinkling with genuine amusement as a short chuckle burst from him. It was oddly endearing and my heart clenched at the sound. His eyes lightened for a moment and I watched in wonder as some of the brown spiked through the silver.

Slowly, Kyoya leaned back, pushing away from the loveseat and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his swim shorts. I blushed, glancing to the side in embarrassment as I remembered all over again that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. I blinked, catching sight of the soft pink color schemes, the gently feminine tones of the faux fur throw blankets and cream-colored reading chairs overlooking a floor to ceiling window plan. A large tv hung against one wall, facing the large, downy bed. It was…

“Pink,” I blurted out, blinking around in wonder. “This is very pink.”

“Each room has a theme,” Kyoya said quietly. “The theme for this one is Princess.” I stared at him, taken aback, watching as a small smile curled his lips. “I thought it was appropriate.” 

I didn’t know how to take that.

For a moment, we were caught in an odd tug-of-war, neither of us speaking as we stared at each other. The confident slope of his shoulders was still there, a posture one of lazy, self-assurance.

“Do you come here often? Your family?” I hadn’t meant to ask the question. It felt like I was prying even as the words slipped from my lips and I winced, regretting them almost immediately as Kyoya’s face shuttered.

His face held the same tense edge that I had seen so many times before - calculating, analyzing my response. “Why do you ask?”

I gulped, mentally belittling myself as I went through the variety of small talk that I had learned from my parents. How are your investments doing? Any new stocks to look into? Your house is quiet gorgeous - in fact, we were looking into… I skirted around the reason I had asked, trying desperately to find a way to say anything but what I was really thinking.

But his gaze was so sharp and with every passing second, I could feel it growing harder and harder-

“It - it’s just that it feels… a bit empty here.” I winced, my gaze taking a nosedive as I stared anywhere but into his eyes. “What I mean to say - it’s a lovely house but it doesn’t feel very… welcoming.”

If this didn’t get me kicked out than I wasn’t entirely sure what I could do other than dance naked through the halls.

“My family…” My gaze jerked up, meeting Kyoya’s in alarm as he gave a soft chuckle. But it didn’t feel like a laugh. No, it was the closest sound I had ever heard to actual rage. I blinked as he glanced around, eyeing the finary in this room with bland disdain. A sharp, deadly smile curled his lips. “My family doesn’t go on family vacations.”

In that moment, he looked so…  _ hurt _ that I thought I might cry. His face was blank, his body still poised in that lazy posture. But his eyes as they ran over the gold trimming along the ceiling and floor, the ornate, rounded table that sat just beside the reading chair radiated, burning across the space like a heater set to high. My mouth went cottony, my foot throbbing weakly as I sat stiffly against the loveseat, wanting to say something but not knowing  _ what _ .

“My family doesn’t either,” I blurted, blushing as those eyes drifted to me, a single brow raising as I blundered onward, clumsy and unsure. “Go on vacations… Sometimes I think… that they don’t know how to be happy if they’re not...away...from us...”

I flinched, swallowing the words with each pause like a fisherman trying to reel in his catch. I tried to think of the last time I had said those words to another human being and then flinched again when I realized that Kyoya would be the first. 

His head tipped to the side, inquiring and I tried desperately to reign myself in, floundering as the words came pouring out. “My mother’s traveling Greece - she’s been gone for… two years? And my father spends most of his months in our cottage in Corrèze.”

I didn’t know what else to say, feeling oddly bare in the small room. Nervously, I looked down at my fidgeting fingers, one crawling over the rest like a drowned sailor treading water. Too real - this relationship was becoming too real. I could barely catch my breath from one moment to the next-

Kyoya’s fingers curled into my hair, winding a curl around his finger with a gentleness that made my heart thud unevenly against my ribcage. My eyes jerked away from the action, colliding with his for one fleeting, heated moment. His gaze had gone soft, softer than I had ever seen it before, a sad smile curling his lips as he brought his fingers to my lips and kissed my curls, his eyes closing for a moment. 

Heat crept along my stomach, moving slowly but thoroughly up to my cheeks. There was a reverence about the action, a devoted sort of understanding as he had caught my gaze moments before.

I stared dumbly up at him as he slowly straightened, brushing my curls back over my shoulder, his fingers grazing my cheeks in an action that I didn’t think was at all unintentional.

“I’ll go get your bags and show the doctor to your room,” he murmured, his voice gravelly and low before he turned away and made his way swiftly to my door and away.

And I sat there, blinking dumbly after him, unable to move from my spot. It was a devilish talent to be able to completely incapacitate someone with the barest of touches. It confounded me, made me doubt my own sanity. It also… lit me up, made my insides vibrate with warmth. I wanted to talk to him more, I realized and then my heart sank. Because it also made me want to call off the bet. Did he really like me? Or..?

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts followed by the jolly greeting of a aged doctor and a brawny, male nurse. How long had I been sitting here? I frowned. Thinking about Kyoya. That wasn’t a good sign.

The visit went much the way that Kyoya had described it. To the point that I almost threw a pillow at the doctor’s head in an attempt to add some diversity. I bypassed that to instead, turn on the news and not think about the fact that my foot was currently being stitched back together in Kyoya Ootori’s family beach house.

By the time the pair were done cleaning and stitching and giving me a series of instructions that I could barely remember, I was so exhausted that I crawled drunkenly over the loveseat to under the covers. The anesthetic was so strong that I could barely keep my eyes open for one second longer.

I fell asleep to the monotonous drone of news reporters talking about the next great economic boom, the room flickering around me.


	16. The Unusual Guest!

_Please review and follow/favorite!_

* * *

My father, as expected, had not taken the rejection of his phone calls too well. It took him three video calls and a plethora of text messages to come down off his proverbial cliff.

"I can come," he threatened, his voice crackling over the speaker of my phone. I dipped into an alcove, grimacing as I came face-to-face with a facial bust of a saint or some Greek god, the brows strong and drawn low in disapproval. "I have that capability, Ko!"

"I know that you have that capability," I snapped, turning my back as a few curious students slowed as they passed me. "It would be embarrassing if a 40 year old business tycoon didn't have that capability."

"Is that lip?" he demanded, sounding like a huffy bird, puffing up his feathers in outrage. I could just picture him, his meaty hand clutching the expensive furniture of his drawing room, the pictorous French landscape sprawling dreamily just outside of his window. _Pompous, flighty vieil homme._ "Is my own daughter giving me lip?"

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. And then I took another before forcing out a tight: "No."

"Hm." He sounded indignantly resigned, mulling over some internal working that I was sure landed in the realm of "parent" and not "functioning adult." My foot ached, the bandages digging into the soft skin around my toes. It had been nearly two weeks and while the stitches had dissolved, leaving behind a baby pink scar, my foot still felt delicate. My father's voice crackled, deepening as he finally spoke again. "You know I'll have to tell your mom."

My stomach dropped, my hands going clammy. It was a visceral response. All of the indignation and resentment came bubbling up inside of me at a rate that made me near comatose. Vaguely, I recalled the tight, chic fit of her clothes. The perfume that she had always rubbed into her wrists with a superior flare like every detail about her needed to exude elegance or else she would be called out by the other rich women of the world. The time that she had dyed her hair in my bathtub because she didn't want to risk staining her own even though she had always had more than enough money to go to whatever salon she wanted.

"Over a _phone_ call?" I hissed, not bothering to hide the seething rage in my voice. "I haven't missed a meeting in over 7 years and you come down on me over not making a personal call with my own _father_?"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic, _mon canard_ ," he breathed, huffing out an exasperated sigh. "You know she's been wanting more reports on your current affairs. She wants to stay connected. She's your mother, afterall."

"A good way to stay connected is to stay in the same time zone as your daughters," I seethed, frazzled, running a sweaty palm through my hair.

" _Ko_."

My mouth snapped shut, old loyalties tightening my gut.

I hated both of them.

I had realized this a long time ago. But… it was more complicated than that. Because they had taught me to crave their approval as well, to give me rare glimpses of gentle praise that my very body sang for it. I hated them but apparently, I didn't hate them enough. Apparently, that pure emotion was tainted, poisoned with the bitter love that only a child could crave from a parent.

"Have some respect." I bit down on my cheek, tasting metal. I respected them enough to take care of their company. I respected them enough to go get their wayward daughter. I respected them enough to not drop everything so that they would have to come back from their luxury vacations. "Your mother and I will discuss the best course of action to follow. We love you, Ko. We don't want you to be too overwhelmed."

The sentiment was laughable. I felt it tighten my guts until it was like they were being stirred by a ladle.

There was a long, stiff silence - one that I refused to break. I let it hang there between us, speaking when I couldn't. I let him feel my judgment, my resentment, my utter rage crackle through the line until he gave a soft cough.

His voice was tentative when he finally spoke again. " _Bonne Journée, mon canard. Je t'aime_."

" _Je t'aime, papa_ ," I forced out, hanging up before the conversation could wither any further.

The Greek statue stared back at me, his expression tensed into one of judgment - maybe even quiet anger. I didn't look away for a moment, keeping his gaze in a foolish battle of wills. Wasting my energy here was better than anywhere else. I felt it rolling inside of me like a series of dark clouds, struck through with lightning.

 _Ding, ding, ring._ My hand didn't shake as I answered, my voice steady, emotionless. "Ko Houshakuji."

* * *

I needed to find a way to tell Renge that our parents were starting to get interested in what we were doing here. My feet stuttered to a stop, the sign for Music Room 3 just ahead. _When had I become her accomplice?_ I wondered grimly. Originally I would have gone home and already had my bags packed, smug in the belief that our mother would be dragging us back to France within the next night.

Instead, I felt a mounting dread. Cursing softly, I stormed toward the cracked door, pressing my hand to the top of my hair and into the ruffle navy blue of my skirt before I pushed it open and a gust of wind, slammed a pile of rose petals into my face.

"Welcome!" Came the chorus and I grumbled, frowning down at the petals that I was currently picking from where my white button-down tucked into the high-waist of my navy-blue skirt, golden buttons running down the front.

"Sister-in-law is the only one who ever looks unhappy coming in here," Hikaru and Kaoru whined, sighing dramatically from their places flanking Tamaki. "It's kind of a mood killer, don't you think?"

I turned a savage glare on the two, finally taking in the outfit of the day. Tamaki was dressed in a stuffy, flamboyant uniform, gold medals, and shoulder pads sparkling against his otherwise white ensemble. His eyes sparkled as he gave me a cheesy grin, waving excitedly. The twins were dressed in a more keyed-down uniform in baby-blues, a white turtleneck just beneath while Haruhi and Honey each had more of a violet tone to theirs.

My breath went a little uneven as I caught sight of the ebony suits that Mori and Kyoya shared, the sleeves short as if they knew for a fact that their biceps were swoon-worthy. Contrary to the chaotic mess of the beach house, Kyoya's hair was smoothed down, looking ruffled but like that had only come from running his hands through his hair too often. I frowned at the secretive smile, the heated way that his eyes were running over my body.

Around all of their waists sat a belt, hanging low as if the packs secured to them had anything more than empty air. _Police men,_ I thought.

I cooled my tone, blatantly ignoring Kyoya's pullover me as I turned a polite smile to the Hitachiin twins. "You've been doing a lot of themes lately." My smile grew, relishing the next words before I said to them, slowly, sweetly. "Trying to compensate for something?"

The effect was immediate, my words drawing out outraged gasps from the twins as Tamaki's face crumbled.

"Compen-" Hikaru demanded, his face stricken as he lunged toward me.

Kaoru's face loomed above me, his expression one of annoyance. "I've never compensated for anything my entire life. I can show you right now. YOU'LL SEE WHOSE COMPENSATIN-"

A hand curled around Kaoru's shoulder, jerking him away with such force that he collided with his brother. Kyoya stepped between us, his smile a sharp thing as he eyed the twins. "I think that's enough."

I tried not to look too smug as I smirked around Kyoya's shoulder, catching the twin's outraged stares. Dark eyes cut to me, his expression altogether reproachful and yet...soft. I felt myself melt a little bit, my body swaying closer to his until I could feel the soft fabric of his clothed back against my front. My smirk was gone now, my head tipping back, back, back until I could catch every angle of his face, the unruly mess of the hairs that curled around his ears, and the strong line of his nape.

I had seen him - short, heated glances - in the halls, between classes but nothing more. Maybe I had been avoiding him. Maybe I had been running away for whatever was welling up inside of me. I had felt it there at the beach house - that tether that seemed to run between us.

For a moment, those strange eyes of his widened, his jaw tightening as his gaze caught and stayed rapt on me before they were narrowing, his whole body turning toward me. His familiar scent filled my lungs, calming me for an infinite moment as I searched his eyes. What was I looking for?

"Is everything alright, sweets?" he whispered and my muscles loosened at the deep, gravelly sound of his voice, the way that he seemed to lean toward me too - around me. Like he was trying to shield me. His eyes crinkled, his eyes darkening, tensing with...concern. "Did something happen?"

"I-" I took a deep breath, my hands reaching up before I even realized what I was doing. The material of his uniform scraped along my fingertips as my brows furrowed. His eyes tracked the moment, going dark and heated. "It's… good to see you."

He blinked. I blinked, dazed. Was that what this was? Walking into a room and feeling...safe… It was the first time I felt anything so… It made my head spin, my heart squeeze. How could such a little thing feel so real? Like the first breath of air that I had ever had? All from him. How?

A slow, sure smile curled his lips, his eyes widening in wonder for only a moment before his face was washed over. He looked boyish in that moment - light and teasing in a way that belayed everything I knew about him. I wanted to kiss him, I realized. I wanted to grab him by the collar and pull him down so that I could taste that smile on my lips.

His long, strong fingers curled around where my fingertips still rested, cautiously against his chest, the contact making my stomach flutter. The grey in his eyes swirled, mixing with the amber brown as he kept my eyes captive.

His voice was a rough whisper against my knuckles, each word pushed into my skin by his lips and breath. "Sometimes you say things that make me want to haul you into dark, curtained-off areas."

I gasped, my mind spinning, coming to one conclusion and then careening into another. "Wh-what?"

"Woah," a small voice whispered and I jolted, suddenly remembering that we weren't in fact alone and that we were in fact surrounded by other people. Kyoya's eyes narrowed, annoyance tensing his brow as he moved my hand away from his lips. He didn't let me go though, his fingers curling around my own. I felt the telling burn of my cheeks as I blinked around, both of the twins leaning heavily against each other, their mouths gaping in open awe. And beside them, Honey had ducked behind Mori, his eyes wide.

I couldn't bear to look at Tamaki and Haruhi, my back straightening rigidly at the dumbfounded expressions.

"I didn't know that you were that smooth, Kyoya," Kaoru murmured, his eyes swiveling between us in rapt wonderment. Hikaru gave a soft sound of agreement, his arm slung casually across his brother's shoulder, his expression an identical mirror.

"True love." I flinched, all of my muscles tensing at the sniffling whine of a voice. " _Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé._ "

The words nearly drove me over the edge. I whirled, nearly ricocheting back from the fact that Kyoya was refusing to let go of my fingers, his face decidedly blank. I jabbed a finger at Tamaki's tearful expression, his cheeks flushed. " _Tu parles comme un bouffon._ "

He blinked, a single tear slipping free from his violet eyes before nodding. "Sometimes it's hard to concede your feelings."

I snarled, taking a slow, measured step toward him. "You-"

A soft shuffling sound made me halt, all of our heads whipping to the side as the music room's door slid open.

Behind me, I heard the twins murmur in confusion. Tamaki's head tipped to the side, his eyes lighting with interest and a bit of confusion.

Standing in the door, looking more than a little out of place was a child, her blonde hair tied high in pigtails and her eyes a wide blue.

"What an unusual guest," Tamaki murmured and I had to agree.

* * *

French to English!

_vieil homme: Old man_

_mon canard: my duck_

_Bonne Journée, mon canard. Je t'aime_.: Have a nice day, my duck. I love you.

 _Je t'aime, papa:_ I love you papa.

_Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé.: There is only one happiness in life; to love and be loved. (Verse by "George Sand")_

_Tu parles comme un bouffon.: You sound like a buffoon._


End file.
